How to Prepare for Working at Home with Your Children {Sponsored Guest Post}

Having small children and working at the same time can be tough, not only do you miss out seeing them during the day, but if you need to hire a baby sitter, it can be quite expensive. However, if you already are working from home or have the opportunity to work home, there are a few pitfalls to avoid, so that you can still be efficient while working at home and manage your kids, below, the following list is not an exhaustive list but should help you get started:

1. Take breaks.  Your kids are more likely to let you work in silence (well near silence) if you make time in your work schedule to offer them your full attention in between bursts of work activity. Be entirely present for playtime for 20 minutes, and then ask them to cooperate with you when you return to work. When you’re done, reward them (and yourself-playtime can be a good way to leave the stress of work) with another scheduled play time.
2. Create the perfect office. Working from home gives you the chance to have the office that you always wanted and somewhere you will actually be able to work. By using online auction sites in combination with shipping sites like uShip you can find feedback rated transporters always looking for courier jobs, Therefore, making, assembling that perfect office at a cheap price and shipping it you easy and at an affordable price
3. Effectively and efficiently use naptimes. Get work the most vital work done when the house is quiet because your children are sleeping. Try to work straight through nap times. You can also get a significant amount done if you wake up an hour before your kids and work then or if the idea of waking up early sounds too horrible, work an hour after their bedtime.
4. Call in reinforcements. It really helps to have a great, supportive partner. My wife is a high school teacher, so she needs to do a lot of work herself, so we take turns working at the computer while the other looks after the children. Take the kids outside, or take them to a park, or read to them, while your spouse does some work.

5.      Keep a notepad handy. Having to constantly switch between work and mom mode can leave you in a muddle, especially when it causes you to forget what you were doing. To avoid forgetting things, keep a notepad handy and write down deadlines, ideas and projects on it. It can also help to plan your day out ahead of time.

Written by Amar Patel