Like me, I know a lot of you out there are trying to balance working from home with kids while sheltering in due to Covid-19. In the past couple of weeks, I’ve learned some things and we’ve adopted some new routines that I know will be helpful for you because they have been game-changers for us.
Make The Most of Your Weekend. You probably thought I’d start with Monday but no, in order to have a productive week now more than ever - weekends matter. I don’t know about you but I can’t work in a home that has stuff everywhere. I can’t wake up on Monday mornings and try to figure out the week. So utilizing my weekend to clean the house (it will probably get messy during the week but it will be clean) and schedule the week for work, chores, meals etc. This way you’re going into the week knowing what needs to be done and ready to face it.
Block Scheduling. We began to encourage this with our team earlier this year and I’m so glad we did because it’s even more helpful now when high-structure is not possible. A block schedule simply means that you create several smaller to-do lists each day instead of one really long one… and then you tackle each of those smaller to-do lists during different “big blocks” of time throughout the day.
So breaking your day up like this for example
Morning, Noon, Evening
OR
Early Morning (before kids wake), After breakfast, Naptime, etc
I’ll schedule tasks that I need high concentration for during the early morning when my kids are asleep. I’ll schedule to do things that take less focus when they are doing school work cause I know they will interrupt me with questions. I schedule calls during TV time cause lets face it - they don’t move from the TV so I know there’s a high probability that I won’t be disturbed.
The Morning Brief. It’s probably no surprise to those who know me that we have a morning meeting lol. But let me just say its soooo needed regardless of what your personality type is. Even though the plan was made over the weekend - we all need reminders (especially my kids) of what the day will hold. So during or while we’re making breakfast we discuss the day, any changes and write it on our whiteboard so that we can all be on the same page.
Get Out The House. If you follow me on social media you know that I go on social distancing walks by myself and with my family. This is helpful for multiple reasons. It helps me get some exercise, it helps my kids get energy out, and it helps my husband and I connect. Whenever we return, the fog of being at our computers and tv is lifted and we’re ready to transition to the next thing.
Phone A Friend. During such crazy times I need those closest to me. I need to feel connected. I need to make sure they are ok. I need to share the ways that I am not. All of these things are important for my mental health - for our mental health. I love to work and I can stay in that mode so it’s important that I take breaks throughout the day to call my people and be flexible to answer the phone when they call me or call back during a different block.
We’re still learning and adjusting during this time. Flexibility is the name of the game. I encourage you to take the time to think through how you can implement some of these routines into your own.
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