How to Balance Your Professional and Personal Life

Life

Method 5 Balancing Childcare with Work

Consider keeping a more flexible schedule. Working set hours does not work for everyone, especially for those who have young children. You may have to get used to getting your work done 5 to 10 minutes at a time to accommodate your kids’ needs or you might have work in the evenings to complete what you didn’t get done during the day.

You may also need to keep some odd hours to balance your personal and professional life as a parent working from home. For example, if you have young kids at home with you when you are working, then you may need to work an hour or two after your kids go to sleep or after your partner returns home in the evening.[26]
Make sure you ask your employer or client if it’s okay if you work on a more flexible schedule to accommodate your child’s needs. Flexibility might not be an option if your employer expects you on the clock between certain hours every day. However, if you’re a contractor, you might be allowed to work when you can throughout the day or night.

2.Take advantage of childcare options. Asking someone to watch your kids for a few hours each day can also be a great way to get things done. If you have willing grandparents or other family members close by who are willing to watch your children for a few hours every day, then you may want to take advantage of that.
Consider what works best for you and your babysitter. For example, maybe your parents can come over to the house, or you can drop your kids off for a playdate with grandma a few times a week.
A trustworthy babysitter can also be a great option if you can afford to pay someone to watch your kids. If you do not have a good regular babysitter, then ask friends and family if they know anyone.

3.Use busy boxes to entertain your kids while you work. If you don’t have anyone to watch your kids while you work during the day, then you will often need to find other ways to keep them busy with something while you work.[27] One way to do this is to create a busy box with lots of fun items in it to keep your child busy while you work.

A busy box is filled with a variety of toys and activities that are meant to keep your child entertained while you work. For example, a busy box might include, crayons, clay, a coloring book, stickers, puzzles, and other toys for your child.
Prepare busy boxes the night before and place them near your work space. You can use an empty shoe box or other small box and select from your child’s toys and other items to create the box. You might even throw in a surprise now and then, such as a new coloring book or a new package of stickers.
You can even create themes for busy boxes. For example, if you want to teach your child about colors, you can make boxes with collections of red items, blue items, etc. Or, you might create a theme for a busy box based on one of your child’s favorite movies, books, shows, or characters.

4.Work in the same room with your kids. It is a good idea to work in the same room with your kids so that you can supervise them and provide them with more entertainment options as needed. For example, if you work out of your home office, you might create an area for your kids by placing a special rug or play mat along with some of your child’s favorite toys.

You might also need to learn how to talk to your kids and play with them while you work. Being able to work and engage with your kids at the same time is a skill, but you can develop this skill with practice.
If you have a backyard with a play area for your kids or a nearby park with a playground, then you might even consider taking your work outside for an afternoon.