Work Life Balance Working From Home with Kids

Working from home with kids is one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do. And maintaining sanity and work life balance working from home with kids sometimes feels impossible.

Your office is your home, your home is your office. The kids need you, your spouse needs you, your dog needs you, your boss needs you, your clients need you…AHHH!!! (Let alone YOU need you.)

HOW to maintain work life balance while working from home with kids might feel like one of life’s greatest unsolved mysteries.

However, many wiser parents have gone before me, and I’ve picked up some tips along the way that I want to share. Read these tips on how to maintain work life balance while working from home with kids to maintain your sanity, your joy, your humanity, and your motivation.

And I’ve got a few of my own tricks up my sleeve (can anyone say Dance Party?).

Work From Home Tip #1: Set a Schedule

Set a schedule for yourself and stick to it!

This is seriously the easiest thing to do, and yet so many people don’t commit. Not only is it the easiest thing to do, it can provide some of the greatest mental relief as you balance wearing so many hats.

Setting a schedule allows you to commit your time to each needed area in an intentional way.

For me, this intentional time blocking helped me to feel legitimately successful in each area. On the other hand, when I tried to “focus” on work and my child simultaneously, I quickly felt like a major failure in both.

How to Set a Work Life Balance Schedule

Here’s what I did to set a schedule for myself:

I considered what was REALISTIC.

I can’t start working at 4am and stay up until 11pm. That’s not realistic for me. I also can’t work for a 5 hour chunk of time. That’s not realistic for my child.

I considered what was CRITICAL.

In my house, nap time is critical. Meal time with family is critical. My daily staff phone call is critical. Answering emails periodically throughout the day is critical. Exercise (preferably outdoors) is critical.

I considered what was SUSTAINABLE.

I can work an insane schedule, because I am a crazy work-horse. Can I sustain an insane schedule for weeks and months on end? Nope! I had to build in down time, transition time, quiet time, REAL time that my mind and body need to shut down and rest (other than sleeping). Oh, and did I mention that it has to be alone time sometimes? (“Is alone time a real thing?” – all parents everywhere)

My Schedule for Working and Parenting

Once I considered all of the key points to creating my work from home schedule, I sat down and wrote it out. I now have this schedule posted to the refrigerator door as a reminder to myself every day and as notice to my family.

*Side note: I DID work with my amazing, understanding supervisor to finalize this schedule and be sure I was meeting her expectations and supporting our customers appropriately. I did not do this in a vacuum!*

My work-day schedule working from home now looks like this:

5 a.m. Wake up, get ready for the day, make coffee

5:30 – 7:30 a.m. Answer work emails and handle projects best done in quiet (and drink coffee)

7:30 – 10 a.m. Time with my daughter (that usually includes breakfast, reading, and play time outdoors when it’s nice)

10 – 11 a.m. Check in on emails and phone calls while my daughter practices independent play and gets a little screen time (this one is hit or miss, I’ll be honest – but I know I can be interrupted doing this work, if necessary)

*Check out these Amazing Quiet Time Toys for Toddlers!*

11 a.m. – 12 p.m. Lunch time

12 – 2 p.m. Nap time for toddler and work time for mom (this is when I schedule virtual meetings, phone calls, and things that can’t be interrupted)

2 – 3 p.m. Snack time and Go for a long walk outside

3 – 5 p.m. My husband is home and able to take our daughter to play (yay teamwork!) while I work (again, scheduling those things that can’t be interrupted)

5 – 7 p.m. Dinner time and Bedtime routine

7 – 7:30 p.m. Household chores (dishes, clean up, prep for next morning)

7:30 – 8:30 p.m. Work time (emails, projects, etc.)

8:30 – 9:30 p.m. RELAX (read, watch TV, just sit and stare at the ceiling, etc.)

9:30 – 10 p.m. Get ready for bed and Zzzzzzz

Benefits of Sticking to a Work Life Schedule

Is my schedule perfect? No! Does it get messed up constantly? Yes! Does it help my brain calm down knowing that I have time intentionally dedicated to my work and then to my family? YES! Absolutely.

Intentional is the key word.

I make a choice to shut my laptop and step away at 7:30 a.m. every morning and 8:30 p.m. every night. I choose not to sneak a peek at my work email every 10 minutes between 7:30 – 10 a.m. so that I can be fully invested in my child.

Here’s the deal: the stress, the shame, the disappointment, the fear of being bad at everything you do because there’s not enough of you is REAL.

Should you feel that way? Heck no! Of course not. Yet I have felt those feelings more times than I can say, even though every other person will look at you and say, “Of course what you’re doing is impossible – you can’t do it all.” They are right. YOU CAN’T DO IT ALL, ALL THE TIME! (without losing your sanity).

This schedule allows me to “shut off” (or maybe “dim” is the right word) the different roles I need to play so that I can focus on each area individually instead of ALL of them at once. What a difference it makes.

I highly encourage you to try making a schedule for yourself. The practice of choosing intentional time for your activities will give you more peace, more productivity, and more quality time in each area you focus. For me it was absolutely key to maintain work life balance while working from home with kids.

Work From Home Tip #2: Ask for Help

You need to know when to cry uncle. Don’t be like me, waiting until I’ve had 4 tear-filled breakdowns all in one day, to do it.

Remember above when I said you can’t do it all, all the time? Well, you can’t do it alone either. To maintain sanity, to maintain work life balance as a working parent, you have to ask for help.

Everyone is different and your community will be entirely unique to you. But I am sure that community includes people that love you and are willing to help in one way or another.

Who can I ask for help?

Consider asking some of these community members for help:

Your spouse/partner (yes, this one gets overlooked too much)
Family
Friends
Neighbors
Coworkers and Supervisor
Connections from activities, hobbies, or groups (church, sports teams, classes)
Community Resource networks – local government, local non-profit organizations, churches
Social media – Facebook groups (there are lots of local “mom” groups you can connect with that provide a ton of advice and support, even things like babysitting swaps and play dates)

What help should I ask for?

Even when you know you need it, asking for help is hard. Your community may only be able to give a certain kind of help or at certain times. Here are some ideas of requests you can make of your community:

Advice– this one is easy and people are always willing to help their community with thoughts on their own experience and wisdom.

Meals– homemade or ordered for delivery, help with a meal is always a blessing.

Grocery shopping/errands– everyone else goes out: Could a neighbor pick something up for you at the store, and you’ll pay them back? Drop of your dry cleaning right next to their work?

Short term child care– babysitting, child care swap (they watch your kids one day, you watch theirs the next)

Time– I talked about making a change to your schedule in Tip #1 above. More time can also look like requesting an extension on a project deadline, moving a meeting to a different time to accommodate your home schedule, or a day off for some balance and improved mental health.

Work From Home Tip #3: Talk to Someone

You are not alone. You are not the first or the last working parent to feel overwhelmed by balancing work and family at home.

To maintain work life balance while working from home with kids, you need to reach out and talk to someone.

My go-to is my close group of girlfriends, who are also moms, and many of them work. They remind me that what I’m feeling is normal and I’m doing a great job. They give me tips and advice. They make me laugh. They send me videos. They order dinner to my door step. They are my rocks.

I also mentioned social media above, but I’ve seen some seriously great advice come out of chats running in a local mom’s Facebook group. Join a group you can relate to. Pose a question of your fellow local moms or dads, and see what valuable tips you can get.

Next is professional help. Your mental health is crucial to your long-term success in work, family, and life. A professional counselor can give you the advice and help you need to work through your personal challenges. They will be a wise sounding board, an objective point of view, and a confidential listener.

Many employers have assistance programs that give you free access to confidential counseling. Make sure you’re using all of the resources available to you!

Work from Home BONUS Tip: What to Do When Everything Falls Apart

There are days when I might as well take the schedule off my fridge door and light it on fire.

Then I’ll call up my neighbor to ask them to pick up more tissues for me from the grocery store since I’ve cried all mine into the trash can.

Next I’ll hop on the Facebook Mom’s Group and ask, “What do I do when my toddler is acting like a complete crazy person and I haven’t accomplished a single thing?”

This is real life, and real life does not always stick to a schedule.

My Favorite Personal Solutions on Crazy Days

GRACE & PRAYERS – Back to basics. [Jeremiah 29:11] *See my favorite Worship Songs for Hard Days*

FAMILY & FRIENDS – Call them up. They will be glad to hear from you, take your mind off the moment, and offer solace and advice. You are not alone.

PRACTICE GRATITUDE – What DO I have to be thankful for? Because woah, that list can go on for a long time. Get some perspective.

PATIENCE – Deep breaths, eyes closed, refocus. Check out the “Calm” app – amazing for short meditations and refocusing your mind.

LAUGHTER – Youtube Funny Cat Videos always help with that. I also like watching News Anchor Bloopers.

DANCE PARTIES – We religiously invoke the power of the dance party in my house. Justin Timberlake’s infectious song “Can’t Stop the Feeling” does the trick every. time.

GO FOR A WALK – When all else fails and the world is melting before my very eyes, I shove shoes and coats on, grab a baggie of goldfish, water bottles, and shout “WALK!” Fresh air and exercise are loyal friends that gift healing clarity and calm (for me and my toddler!). **By the way, when the schedule you make just doesn’t work for a required business call, I have successfully made MANY business calls while out on a walk. My child is distracted and quiet in the stroller, and I just stroll along at a leisurely pace making all the calls I need.

To sum up, you are amazing.

These tips to maintain work life balance while working from home with kids help me get through every day.

Faith and grace, laughter and friendship, loyal family, and candid conversations with trusted colleagues can make a world of difference as you balance so much at once. Give yourself grace, practice self-care, and ask for help!

Just breathe and remember: You are a rock star accomplishing more than you’ll ever know in the moment. You are doing the very best you can for your kids and for your job, and that is MORE than enough – it is everything.

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