In this post you will discover the ultimate solution for peacefully working 6 hours from home, while having the kids there too. With this solution you will not need a babysitter. Neither will you have to compromise on your attention, watching your children with one eye and looking at your screen with the other 😉. This solution for working from home with kids works for both toddlers and older children. Are you a single parent? Then this blog post is for you too!
We will share with you our top tips of how we both get lots of work done, while having the kids at home full time. And having fun while we are at it!
How We Balance Working from Home and Family Time
Since we live in Portugal, a lot of the warmer months have is swimming weather. There are many river beaches around here, so we often find ourselves taking the kids to swim and splash.
However, life cannot always be a vacation – right? For most of us, there is work that needs to be done. Mat and I both work fully remotely. In addition to that we like to work on this blog!
While we can plan most of our work in hours that fit our schedule, some of our work consists of video calls.
The biggest part of this strategy focuses on work that can be freely scheduled. If your work can’t be freely scheduled, please scroll down to the bottom for extra tips on how to still make that work!
We are very glad to say that we have found a way to consistently get lots of work done, and to alternate that with enjoying our time together as a family.
The ultimate solution that we share here, is what really works for us. We have tried many things, but this strategy is a keeper.
Keep reading if you are interested to learn what we did to create a win-win for everyone.
Should you decide to copy our strategy, it might mean that you will need to make some changes to the way you plan out your day. Or maybe you just want to pick out a few tips here and there?
Either way, we are confident that our tips will make your remote work experience with kids a whole lot more fun, more effective, and no longer frustrating!
The Ultimate Daily Routine: Getting You 6 Hours of Working from Home With Kids
Let’s get right to the point and immediately share our most life-changing tip on working from home with kids. We created a system by integrating a daily routine that our family has gotten used to.
This is our daily routine:
7 AM – 9 AM: The Best Working Hours
Start the day early (I am aware of the fact that some would say this is late) to use the best hours of the day. Do your most important work in the morning. As you will have the least odds to be interrupted.
Also, study shows that people have more will power in the morning, and are able to focus better.
It is advised to prioritize your One Thing, first thing in the morning, which is also the title of a book that changed our life. We very highly recommend reading it.
Where Are the Kids at This Point?
No, they are not playing with knives. Nor are they on social media unattended. They are asleep, playing or reading.
We often hear about people whose children wake up at 6:30 in the morning and wake up their parents.
It took us a few days (really – a few days of being kind, but consistent), but we managed to get our kids used to not leaving their room until 8 or 9 o ‘clock. Unless they have to pee of course!
Now our kids are used to sleeping in, they are well rested, and know how to entertain themselves happily. We believe this is an important life skill for our children to learn.
9 AM – 13 AM: Kids Quality Time
We start our day together as a family at 9 AM. One of us goes downstairs to get the kids and feed the chickens. The other one unloads the dishwasher, and puts breakfast on the table.
While it would be better to discuss it the day before, we often decide during breakfast what we will do with the kids that day. This could be a visit to the grandparents, the playground, or going for a swim. Sometimes we go to the beach or to the mall. We often use the weekends for play dates between our kids and our friends’ kids.
At 12 we have lunch, and at 13 it is… resting time!
1 PM – 3 PM: Work Time Again
After lunch we have ‘uitrusttijd’. This is a Dutch term that is almost sacred in our home. It means resting time.
We have been doing it pretty much ever since the kids were born.
They are both completely used to it and never make a problem of it. Often times they even plan for it, and think about what toys they are going to bring with them ahead of time.
Consistency Carries You Forward
We believe we are witnessing the miracle of consistency in this matter.
When the kids were still babies, they used to go for their afternoon nap at 13 PM and sleep until they woke up after 1,5 hours.
We made sure there was something on, in or near their bed that they could play with until one of us parents came to get them out.
As our kids both got used to falling asleep by themselves from a young age, we could just place them in bed, sing them a song, and leave peacefully.
Now they are getting older, a suitcase full of Duplo or Lego keeps them in the flow for these two resting hours. This is our way to keeping the kids busy while working from home.
We notice how our son enjoys the off time he gets. We hear him talk to himself during this time, playing in his own fantasy world. He processes the things he did that day, and gets extremely creative in his play!
We believe that resting time allows him to find the patience to, for instance, get good at targeting with his suction cup gun or counting until 100.
3 PM – 7 PM: Family Time
This time we use for doing chores around the house. Our kids play freely, and help us where nice or needed.
We usually eat between 5 and 6 PM. That might be early for some of you, but we Dutchies like to eat early😊
After dinner the kids take a shower and play a bit more. Us parents make sure that stuff is cleaned up, and ready to go for the next day.
Bedtime Is Quality Time
7 PM is another point in time that we maintain structurally: Bedtime.
Here in Portugal children go to bed around 9 PM or later, so we are aware of the fact that we are not assimilating in this matter.
Study shows however that children of 4 years old need 12 hours of sleep per day. We believe that we are doing our children a favor by getting them to bed on time almost every day.
Children do well with structure and are not constantly overtired this way.
When our kids go to bed we read them a story, sing together and pray together. It is a lovely one-on-one moment wherein we notice that kids share things that are on their minds.
While I might ask my son how his day was at his friend, he often will not respond in very much detail. When however I bring him to bed, he will share with me to his hearts’ delight.
7 PM – 9 PM: Final Work Stretch
This is the moment we finish up the last things that need doing for the day.
We actually try to not work these hours, as we also want to spend quality time with the two of us.
Sometimes life happens though, and we have a deadline that needs to be met. So, if we have to, we work a few hours in the evening.
In order to keep it fun in general, and between you and your spouse, it would probably be advisable to stick to a 4- or 5-hour working day if you can.
But if you can’t, know that a 6-hour working day is possible 😊
So, there you have it! Our tried-and-true solution for working from home with kids!
Tips On How to Set Up Your Remote Work Station
Now we have the main part covered, let’s talk about the preconditions that will make the whole story easier.
If both of you as parents work from home, we think it is best to set up two separate workstations.
Leave door of your workstation locked if you have small children. Just make sure the other parent or a babysitter is watching your child. More on this in the section on ‘trump cards’ below.
Is your house too small for two separate workstations? Try setting up a home office that allows for supervision. Or consider getting this and this!
We personally also have an area designated especially for playing. We call it the playroom. While it might sound like our house is huge, it isn’t. Mama’s workstation is situated in the playroom 😊.
While it would be handier if we had an extra room, it still is great to have a child proof place where your kids are free to roam and fiddle. Mama takes the other workstation if she wants to work during the kid’s playtime.
The important part about this is that you and your kids get used to the boundaries between their play space, and your working space.
Patiently and kindly keep sending them back to the playroom, until they do it automatically.
In the long run, this will help your children to get in the flow better without being interrupted of the things that go on in the rest of the house. For instance, you that are trying to work.
Do You Need More Remote-Working-With-Children Hacks? Here Are Some Extra Trump Cards!
Can You Not Schedule Work to Your Liking?
If, like me, you have work that is less flexible, you might be able to use some of the strategies mentioned below.
First of all, it might be good to consider discussing more flexible work options with your employer or client. While I have days that I have to join videocalls for 6 consecutive hours, I have also successfully organised that on other days I only have calls at the time that my children are resting.
How To Get Even More Working Hours Out of Your Day
… While Keeping Your Child’s Best Interest In Mind.
Use technology if necessary, but sparingly.
We intentionally did not include this solution into our plan, because we want to limit our children’s screen time. Chances are you want that too. If, however, the circumstances are such that allowing them to watch Blaze or Uki will completely save our butts, then we will not hesitate to press play 😊 Just being honest here!
Double-check that the video you are letting your children watch is child friendly. We don’t advise you to allow your child to watch new videos for the first time all by themselves, because you never know these days…
In order to keep your child’s best interest in mind, make sure to balance these moments out by using your time together intentionally. Make sure you give your children the quality time that they need and want. If you make sure your child feels loved and wanted, and don’t pull this card too often, we believe no harm is done.
Organize a babysitter.
Dad here calls it babysitting whenever he is watching the kids 😊 Any of you do that too? If possible, alternate with your spouse to take the kids out to the playground, the store or the garden. This way your children don’t end up paying for the fact that you want to work extra time.
If it is raining, and the children have to stay at home, you will be happy if your door can be locked. In my experience at least, it is not always possible to keep the little ones away from mama when they know she is home.
Be sure to communicate about taking turns well, so that one of you doesn’t feel like they are not getting as much time to work, as the other.
Of course, you can also ask a neighbor, friend or family member to come keep your children company or take them somewhere.
Again, remember that a babysitter or the other parent is no substitute for YOU. Your children regularly need quality time with you too. Don’t forget to plan that quality time in. Did I mention quality time? 😉
Think out beforehand how to get your children into their flow state.
If you cannot be (emotionally) present with your kids, because you need those few extra hours working from home, decide today what you children could play with tomorrow.
Think about their favorite games, toys or interests and prepare the situation ahead of time.
Maybe get the Lego out from the attic or print out some printables. Get a couple of new books from the library or put some clay on the table for when your kids are done resting or spend a few dollars or euros to buy. Anything that will keep them entertained for a few hours.
This way, the situation can be a win-win for all the family members!
Do you have older kids? Sit down together with them, make some hot or cold chocolate, and brainstorm together on what they would like to be working on or play with while you’re working.
This will make sure that they are actually interested in the thing. Also does this teach your older children the beautiful skill of planning. Which is great!
In Summary
So there we have it: A remote working week of at least 4-6 hours of productivity per day, with the children at home!
Maybe you just want to use from this article what you think is helpful. Or maybe you are keen on fully copying our approach. We hope that this article has given you hope again that working from home with kids is very possible.
What are your thoughts about this solution? Do you think it is achievable, or does it sound too good to be true?
Let us know in the comments below if you have any questions or if you need more tips on a specific part of this solution. We will make sure to incorporate it in this article.
Also, let us know if you have tips for working from home with kids that we haven’t yet mentioned!
Thanks in advance!