Back to School - Tips for working parents (Video)

We’re still dealing with the pandemic worldwide, and many of you will have to manage remote schooling while also trying to work remotely in a few weeks. Some children will return to in-person classes, some others won’t, and who knows what other changes will happen in the next few months.

Sending kids back to school (whether in person or remotely) requires a period of adjustment that working parents need to balance with their job responsibilities.

And, on top of this, people now work longer hours than before, yet school schedules have stayed the same, and this can be even more challenging for families.

Today we’ll share some tips that hopefully, will help you manage your time a little better.

1 - Create a structure in your daily routine

It would be ideal if you could create a schedule that mimics a regular school day to maintain consistency, and it should be very close to what you were doing before all this happened. If you have never done this, you can experiment with different schedules to see what works best for the entire family.

A great way to stay organized if kids are at home is to build your schedule around their routines. For instance, schedule calls or meetings during their nap time, or maybe focus on easy and short tasks during their homework so that you can be there to assist them if they need your help.

If your kids are big enough, give them small incentives for staying on track with their schedule, and maybe reward them for cleaning up without being asked, or for completing a goal for the day. This will keep them busy while you are working.

Don’t forget to take breaks throughout the day to help boost productivity. There are several ways to do this, but a very easy one is by taking 5-minute breaks every hour, and 15–20-minute breaks every few hours. During that time, find some activities to engage the kids as well, do some breathing exercises, some laughing together, and anything that allows you to stay away from electronic devices or your computer to decompress. This should be a break, not a time to use your phone!

2 - Take turns

If you and your spouse have flexible jobs, take turns in taking care of the kids. When one is busy with work tasks and projects, the other one can be available for homework or other to-dos. For this, it would be very useful to have a shared calendar and see when you can assign these “shifts” to each other to avoid confusion.

If you have extra space in your home, set up a designated workspace, and put up a “Do not disturb” sign when you’re working so that everybody is aware of what’s going on. 

3 - Communicate with everyone

Make sure to clearly communicate to your team members and managers or supervisors at work that you are getting ready for your children to return to school (or virtual learning) and let them know which times during the day you may not be available.

Don’t forget to block those times in your calendar so that you don’t get booked for calls or meetings.

Also, if possible, ask for help from your team. This will allow you to feel less overwhelmed with things to do in addition to giving your attention to family.

 Watch the video above for more tips that our coach expert Sabrina Cadini shared!

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Want to know more about Mana? Download the app today and schedule a call with one of our coaches to learn how to spend your time better!