Everyone talks about “enjoying time with your child ” “taking more advantage of the moments of connection” but what do you do when your boss asks for up to date reports, your child has online projects to hand in and zero mood because they have too much energy from being in the house?
However with all the reasons for concern neither is our own emotional state the best for spending quality time with the child. What’s more, being isolated at home gives you time to look at yourself, your life, what makes your soul happy and what doesn’t. A lot to take in for one parent brain.
What to do to be more peaceful and efficient:
1. You start with expectations tailored to the situation. There’s no way you can deliver 100% like you deliver at the office, especially if you’re not used to working from home. Talk to your boss and prioritise tasks, work out solutions together so that what you do, you do well and efficiently. You may even eliminate meaningless activities from your daily routine.
2. You find a suitable workspace that suits you for work. If you try to work from bed, for example, your brain associates bed with sleep, you won’t get much done.
3. You get up in the morning, wash and dress as if you were going to work, so your brain will interpret the signals and help you get into the right mood.
4. You create a routine. Working from home is hard enough if you’re not used to it, and it’s hard enough for your child. Try to make a set schedule for everyone so everyone knows what to expect and when, plus the brain adapts too and helps you more.
5. Plan with your family the schedule for the coming week. What activities the children will do, what you and your partner will do. How you divide the time. Everyone has to agree. Of course you can adjust it every day. It’s also a good exercise in entrepreneurship education. Every night you look at what you did and didn’t do, was it necessarily, do it again tomorrow or put it aside, whether it’s the child’s activity or yours.
Remember to plan time for yourself or alone. We can very quickly lose sight of how much we need some time to ourselves when we are all at home all the time.
6. Don’t forget social media. If you used to go out of the house every day, now it will be very hard for him to be alone with his family, even if everything is fine between you. Plan conference calls with colleagues, talk to neighbours and the immediate community while following recommended safety rules.
7. Exercise daily. Whether it’s in the backyard, in the block or in the house, you can find activities that get you moving and thus burn energy and calories. Click on the link for some ideas for games that burn energy and bring good cheer. I’m exercising and quieting my mind at the same time with yoga exercises guided through videos by Yoga with Adriene. I’ve been following her channel for four years now and it’s doing me a world of good.
You can find the programme of online courses on self-confidence, social-emotional development, bullying and body science here. Signing up and participating helps your child learn useful information about themselves, helps us survive, and helps you feel like you’re contributing what you can in a crisis. We look forward to seeing you! 🙂