Maintaining Your Mental Health Working From Home with Young Kids
How to create work life balance while dealing with an insane amount of anxiety
I am so thankful my kids are heading back to school!
I mean it. I don’t know how anyone could do this with kids around every day. Seriously. I would pull out all my hair out if I had to work like this every day!
Wait a second… I’m already bald. Small victory.
This is the second week of their winter break and we’re at the end of it.
And it’s a good thing too! I’m near the end of my energy for the week and I’ve used up all my sanity.
Don’t get me wrong, I love my boys.
But that doesn’t make it any easier to get things accomplished when they’re around.
Have you ever tried to work with young children in the house? If you don’t have children in the house do you have lots of distractions?
Some days it can be brutal. For me, that’s how today feels. If you have young kids around you’ve probably experienced something similar to what I’m talking about.
If you don’t, I can give you a pretty good picture of what it feels like.
Imagine you brought your laptop with you to work in what turns out to be the busiest, noisiest coffee shop in the city. The overstimulation of dealing with all the movements around you, strong smells, and all that noise is overwhelming.
Would that stress you out? It does me.
That gives a you a pretty good idea of what it feels like… except with the coffee shop scenario you can get up and leave when you’ve had enough.
It’s generally frowned upon to leave your kids.
Balancing Being a Good Writer vs Being a Good Parent
This would be easy if I didn’t care about becoming a great writer… or if I didn’t care about trying to be a great dad.
But I do care about both of those things.
That means a few areas have to be adjusted when you’re working from a distraction filled home or office.
First, you have to lower your expectations. It’s not realistic to think you’re going to be able to accomplish all that you normally would. You’re not in a low stress environment so it’s not going to be the same. You can’t expect to work in the same manner that you normally would.
In order to stay sane, you’re going to have to be ok with getting less done while your kids are awake. Either that, or you’re going to need a lot of duct tape. I’m told that’s also frowned upon.
Second, you’re going to have to adjust your working hours. It’s just not realistic to try and cram your work into your normal working hours. Trust me, I’ve tried that.
Guess what happens when you do that?
All you’re going to accomplish is making yourself and your kids miserable. And your work is going to be crap. So take a softer approach and save your family the heartache.
You’ll feel much better (and much wiser) if you try a more balanced approach. Fit in your critical work when it won’t cause you or your kids “pain” and always take lots of breaks.
One thing that works well for me is to give my kids a small project while I write for a bit.
Quite often I only get a few minutes of uninterrupted writing but that’s ok. Help your kids with their activity or project, read to them, or take a short walk or bike ride with them … and then get back to writing here and there between activities.
Believe it or not, the minutes add up and you’ll find you get way more accomplished in the long run.
I’ve had so much practice at it these days that I’m getting pretty good at it. But that doesn’t mean I’m now a “child whisperer”. I still make plenty of mistakes and so will you. That’s ok.
Take those breaks and you’ll be less likely to go insane… which is a plus.
Finally, make the most of your time while your kids are sleeping. You’re going to have to choose to work later in the evening or earlier in the morning.
It won’t be fun to work that way but if you want to get a lot done… that’s just the way it has to be. You’re just not going to get as much as you want done while your kids are awake.
Once you become skilled at blending your own work with your kids attention this becomes much less strenuous. It still sucks but it’s not as bad as it sounds. And if I can do it so can you.
I’m definitely not going to win any awards for patience… but I’m working on it.
The past two weeks while I’ve been working from home, reading, writing, taking care of my boys, and earning my degree online, I’ve been near the edge of insanity a few times.
What gets me through?
Don’t underestimate those breaks. They are your life raft on the sea of insanity. A strategically placed break here and there really help me reign in my frustrations. With great breaks come great power. Use them wisely.
A Recap on Dealing with Stress and Distractions
I’m by no means an expert but I’ve found these 5 things to be helpful:
- Design your work environment to be as peaceful as possible
- Focus on the needs of your kids as your #1 priority during the day
- Work when it doesn’t upset the balance of your household
- Push your best working time into the evening hours or early morning
- Use breaks like a model uses mirrors
I’m not a pro. I’m always working towards becoming a great writer and a great parent but I don’t have it all figured out.
Life is a challenge and working from home is no different. If you have tips on dealing with stress associated with working in a distraction filled household or other work from home tips, please don’t hesitate to share them by leaving a comment.
I hope the tips and information I’ve shared with you help you increase the peace and well being of you and those you love!
