No household help? No problem.
In a perfect world, you could imagine yourself sitting in the porch of your home drinking your coffee watching your kid/s run in your garden. You sit quietly while listening to your daily podcasts or carelessly watching YouTube videos to improve my skills. You give no care about the rest of what’s inside your home because you have everything handled.
BUT, we are not living in the perfect world nor our kids. There is a bed or two to be made, dishes piling in the sink, clothes to be iron and folded. The list of house chores is long! And the endless work could be unforgiving to first-time parents trying to juggle their new role, managing work/ business and home.
This is how I prepared myself from the possibility of doing it all at home.
You got this!
First, you have to believe that there’s a way to handle the house chores, childcare, and work at your own pace. Focus on what you can do and how to do it well. No matter how we want to make our lives chaos free, there are days where our ability to quickly transform into a superhuman being will be put to the test. So, why not be prepared to put on the cape and take charge in the home your way.
Master Time Management
It will become a burnout if you try to do everything at once. Learn to prioritize tasks and when to work on them. Work-related tasks are best done when the home is quiet and free from distractions, which are usually in the early morning when everyone is sleeping. You can follow this up with some house chores, food prep or even quick tasks like watering the plants in the garden. By doing soon, you will feel an immediate sense of accomplishment because the essential tasks are completed before everyone’s awake. Continue with work as soon as the kids are in school or taking their nap in the afternoon, which gives you about 1.5 to 3 hours to work. Sometimes I take advantage of this quiet time, and schedule client calls during this period. By afternoon, you would feel your energy steadily slowing down, a short 30 to 45 minutes of nap would be great to regain your energy. Those afternoon naps will also give you the energy to play and spend time with your kids. It also means you have to put aside those minor chores that might distract you from finishing your work.
A good schedule is key
Doing house chores while you work at home isn’t that difficult if you could efficiently schedule the house chores based on how frequent you have to do them. Daily and minor tasks are done in the morning or in between breaks. Give yourself 10 to 15 minutes for those small tasks and whenever you can, usually the best time to squeeze in some work in between is when your child is busy playing. Time-consuming tasks like laundry, ironing and folding of clothes, while deep cleaning of the kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom are scheduled every weekend. That way, you’ll have more time to work on some projects during the weekday and squeeze in some video tutorials or try an art and design project on a weekend while waiting for the laundry to finish.
Delegate tasks among the family
As much as you want to handle everything, you shouldn’t! Why? Because eventually, you’re going to burn yourself out. So, if your kids are old enough to carry out some simple chores like cleaning up their room, picking up their toys, putting the trash in the bin and so on you must start encouraging them to help around in the house. Assign age-appropriate tasks to your kids to build their sense of responsibility.
Keep yourself healthy
You won’t be able to do your tasks effectively if your tired and sluggish all the time. Boost your immune system to boost your mood as you work through the many tasks you have at home. Block your schedule for regular exercises at home or in the gym, pampering session in the spa or just a simple, quiet time sipping your favourite drink while reading a book.
Over to you, work-at-home parent!
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