Almost everyone is faced with juggling kids, homeschooling, working from home, and keeping up with the household needs. We are overwhelmed, stressed, anxious, and tired. How are we supposed to get it all done?

As a business owner, I’ve had to try a few different things to find something that helps me be productive. Now, these do not work perfectly all the time, and you may need to tweak them a bit day to day, but these are some ways I have found helpful for being productive while having the kids’ home. Since we all have no idea how long this will carry on for, it’s important to find a routine that can work with your family and home. 

 Schedule a set work time – Pick one or two chunks of time in your day (2-3 hours each) and mark that off as your work time. When you have set times to work, this will allow you to focus on work during “work” times and to focus on the rest on the “off” times. If you have a partner working from home as well, you can take turns with who is working when. Having set time each day to just focus on work can actually lead you to be more productive and get more things done. 

 Focus on weekly goals instead of daily goals – The only consistent thing when working from home with kids is inconsistency. It’s easy for the days to get away from you and things don’t always go as planned. It can feel daunting and upsetting if you have set daily goals and they don’t get accomplished due to the inconsistency of life right now. Instead of stressing to reach those daily goals, you can rest a bit more knowing you have more days to complete the things you wanted. 

 Create a daily routine – Kids do well with structure and routine. They have just lost all of their routines and daily activities, so implementing some sort of structure will help them. Let me be clear, this does not have to be strict and be warned it will not always hold up. But having an idea of what the day looks like will help everyone at home to know what to expect. 

 When it’s family time, be present – This may seem like a no brainer, but when you are out of your “work time” be present with your kids. Play, craft, read, or watch a show together. When you can give them the attention and time, they will be more open to playing on their own when you need to do some work. 

 And lastly, go easy on yourself and try to have some fun. Thanks to technology we are able to work from home and help our kids learn from home. And for kids, I’m sure most of them are ecstatic to be home with mom and dad and the extra time they get. Yes, this way of life right now demands more organization, planning, and flexibility. Some days will be awesome and go smoothly, other days will be frustrating. Be easy on yourself. You are doing amazing. We are all doing amazing. At the end of the day, our work will get done, our kids will feel loved and the housework well…it can wait. Just kidding, it will get done eventually too. 

 If you’re feeling overwhelmed and stressed, take 20 minutes and have a dance party, paint a picture with the kids or play with some playdoh. This will help to calm you down and allow you to refocus. 

Be kinder to yourself. It will make a massive difference in how you navigate this trying time, but we will all get there, one step at a time.