At this point in 2020, you have heard a lot about working from home. Many of the headlines you see are people talking about the increase in productivity they have seen. Others celebrate having a few extra hours a day for deep work. 

 Those people — you note — don’t have kids. 

 You can stay productive with kids running around, but you’ll need more than a good pair of noise-canceling headphones. Copious amounts of duct tape can be another solution, but that’s advice for another day. 

How to Work From Home With Kids & Stay Productive

1. Learn How to Set Weekly Goals

“Can we reschedule? I have lost control of the day.” It’s an email we have all wanted to send at least once a week. When everyone is home, it’s tough to meet daily goals. Trying to do so will likely add a sense of panic or failure, and you don’t need either right now. 

Instead of saying, “I will accomplish x, y, and z on Tuesday,” set weekly goals instead. Weekly tasks allow you to maximize bursts of energy and quiet periods without the pressure of a standard 9-5 schedule.  

Bottom line: Be results-oriented on a weekly basis, not an hourly or daily one. The flexibility it will provide will give you a better feeling of accomplishment and more peace of mind. 

2. Identify & Optimize Quiet Time in Your Day

Trying to force work in a space that’s not conducive to productivity is a trap everyone falls into. The truth is that you’re not going to accomplish a critical task if your kid is having a meltdown. It’s just not going to happen, and that’s okay. 

If you can, rearrange your schedule or front-load your schedule to emphasize quiet periods. Early mornings, nap times, and evenings are a great way to (almost) guarantee a calmer space to work, and they relieve the frustration of trying to stay productive while your family engages in their own distracting activities around you. 

3. Create & Organize Your Workspace at Home

We know - there is no space in your house that’s only yours. However, you should still create a dedicated workspace, if only to create boundaries. 

When you have a dedicated space - whether it’s the kitchen table or a quiet room - you can train your brain to enter work mode and stay there. Working outside of that dedicated space you have created for yourself leads to distractions, and it will diminish your productivity even if the kids are at the park. 

If you can, dedicate a room in the house with a lock on the door. It doesn’t need to be your office 24/7, but it should be your office when you’re in it. That way you will feel like you have the ability to walk away from your workspace and end your workday, and hence end the feeling that you are somehow always at work. It’s all about the boundary we cited above. 

Keep It Real When Working From Home 

There are people out there writing books, TV scripts, developing apps and learning to play guitar — all at once. But if you’re working from home with kids in tow, then you don’t have the time or space to be that person, and that’s okay. 

Rather than focusing on the work you can’t get done, be realistic about what you can and can’t do and make the most of what you have. Rearranging your schedule, goals, and furniture can help you make the most of this time, as long as rearranging doesn’t become a regular part of your routine, especially as it regards furniture! 

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