With so many of us across the world now working from home with kids that are out of school or daycare for an indefinite amount of time, I thought I would share what I’ve learned in the last four years I’ve been running a home-based small business — including almost two years of doing so while being the primary caretaker of our daughter. Even with years of experience, I will be the first to tell you that I don’t have it all figured out. And with no childcare help due to social distancing, I’m definitely feeling a bit disoriented from all of the change to our daily routines that have come with this global health crisis. I can only imagine the strain that parents of multiple children, especially school-aged children are feeling. Bottom line — working from home with kids is never easy but it is possible to do it effectively. Read on for the tips and strategies I’ve learned along the way.

Accept that you will get less done.

Go for quality over quantity with your work, if at all possible. We’re in an unprecedented situation and I’d like to believe that most employers will be understanding that our productivity may not be at the same level it was a few weeks ago. This is a big adjustment for everyone. But no matter if it was a global health crisis or a personal decision that brought you to working from home with children, it’s necessary to adjust your expectations for how much you can complete and instead focus on where you can make the biggest difference. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing - in fact, there’s evidence that shows that becoming a parent actually makes you more efficient and somewhat surprisingly, the more children you have, the better you are at your job.

Learn to prioritize tasks into urgent vs. important

The key to maximizing productivity, whether you are working from home or not, is to learn how to prioritize your workload. Learning about President Dwight Eisenhower’s Urgent-Important Matrix, also known as the Eisenhower Matrix, completely changed the way I think about my to-do list. The basic concept is that there are four types of tasks, urgent and important, non-urgent and important, non-important but urgent and non-important and non-urgent. By using the matrix, you can sort your work tasks into these four categories and then implement the best strategy for getting each type of task done. The strategies, in order are 1. Do First, 2. Schedule, 3. Delegate and 4. Don’t Do. You can watch a video and learn more about using this tool, here. In addition, I’ve created a free workbook titled My Secret to Inspired Productivity, where I break down my method for gentle, sustainable goal-setting as a work-from-home parent. You can download your free copy of my workbook, here.

Keep a tidy and well stocked work area

Whether you have a home office or your “desk” is a corner of the dining room table, there are a couple things you can do to make your work space more functional. First is simple, but try to keep your work space tidy or at least devote 5 minutes to tidying it up before you sit down to work each day. Eliminating clutter from your space will help you stay focused and on task. Second, keep your desk area well-stocked with the things you may want and need to be most comfortable and productive throughout the day. Instead of having to search for pen, your planner and your computer charger every time you want to sit down to work, keep a small basket in your work area to corral these items. Stock it with plenty of extra pens or pencils, a reusable water bottle and a few snacks so you limit the need to get up - and potentially get distracted - throughout your work session. For extra inspiration, add a candle and a houseplant to your work space and have a cozy blanket or sweater close by if you get chilly.

Create a realistic schedule for all

Following a realistic, but flexible schedule has been a boon for me in working from home with a toddler. What is realistic for you depends on how many children you have at home, their ages and whether you have two caretakers at home during the day or just one. Start with the non-negotiable things, like meal times and nap times. If your kids are past the stage of napping, I vote you still plan a family “quiet time” everyday where children can play, read or listen to music/audiobooks quietly in their respective rooms for an hour or two. Then work backwards from there to find the times that will work best for activities where your children need you - family walks, homeschool lessons, etc. - vs. the times you could pop in a movie and set them up with snacks and drinks in the living room so you can get some work done. If both parents are home, consider tag-teaming parenting duties throughout the day but coming together for mealtimes. If one parent is working out of the home, agree to hand off parenting duties for a certain period of time when the other parent gets home. Single parents, don’t judge yourself for doing whatever it takes to keep your family (and yourself) afloat. My thoughts are with you especially right now. Remember, grace is required for times like these. It is not possible to be a Pinterest Perfect Parent and an efficient employee working from home at the same time. Probably not at all, ever, but DEFINITELY not if you were thrown into it overnight like so many families across the country and world have been. You know what is best for you and your family. Trust your instincts.

Click here to download my free workbook, My Secret to Inspired Productivity

I hope that this list of tips is helpful for you! If you have any tips for working from home with children, would you please share them in the comments below? I would love to hear what’s working for you or what you’re struggling most with so we can support each other. I also invite you to connect with me and join the conversation on Instagram.