Teleworking with children
During lockdown it is difficult to balance work and personal life. We give you some advice to face teleworking with children at home.
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Anyone would be willing to telework every now and then, a few days per week, for example, to improve work-life balance. But we would never imagine that teleworking would be in these circumstances we are now experiencing. What we had in mind as an idyllic measure of work-life balance may, at this time, be causing situations of frustration and stress by having to balance both things, it is truly complicated.
Advice to face teleworking with children at home
1. Establish a timetable of routines and tasks: everyone being at home together does not mean we are on holiday, quite the opposite. In addition, the educational community has pointed this out and has started to work on a new method of distance learning so that children don’t lose the pace of work, considering the circumstances, but also so they are entertained. Consequently, the fact that they have work to do can help us when it comes to setting timetables and routines that enable us to work more freely.
2. Look for a space to work which isn’t far away from the children: setting aside a place to work is important. It doesn’t have to be very big, but if possible, it should be light, warm and as pleasant as possible. It is important for children to respect this space, but it is also important not to be isolated and far from them to be able to look after them and convey to them that they are not alone.
3. Place all of the material children need within their reach: before starting work and children starting their tasks, it is important that we have to hand all of the material we are going to need, both for our work, and the children’s. That way we will avoid distractions. To be able to carry out this step, it is important to plan tasks.
4. Create a work environment and set rules: a relaxed and calm environment makes people work better. We can try putting on background music, quietly, something instrumental or relaxing that doesn’t have words that stop our concentration. This is a tip that depends largely on the age of the children, it may not work too well with younger children.
5. Establish break times: they should be specified in the timetable. Short breaks that help to switch off a little form what they are doing and refresh the mind to be able to resume working afterwards with more energy.
6. Be flexible and have lots of patience: we are facing an exceptional and complicated situation. That’s why it's important to keep calm, if it's difficult for us, it is for children too, since their environment and method of learning has completely changed. For this reason, we encourage you to have lots of patience and be calm, and even be flexible with the timetable and routines established.
