How I'm Surviving Parenting and Work During the 2020 Quarantine

I am a wife, a mom of 2 toddlers and an 8 year old, and working full-time in a challenging leadership role. I also serve as a board member for Girls on the Run SOMD, and am in the process of helping my husband launch our coffee roasting business. Over the past several weeks, as many others have done, I’ve added homeschool teacher, child care teacher, and self-proclaimed professional mask maker for a local charity into the mix of my other regular jobs.

I’ve learned a lot about how to be effective as my personal and professional life blend together now more than ever, and here’s my humble opinion:

1. Communication. Communicate regularly with your team and your manager about your unique circumstances, and don’t leave it up to assumptions. If your work product will be impacted in any way, communicate early and often, so that you and your manager can discuss alternatives.
2. Share child care duties. If possible, share child care duties with someone, and create a schedule. Don’t assume that someone else will be on child care duties whenever you need them to be. Communicate with the other person on child care duty, and come to an agreement on who will take which shifts.
3. Privacy. If you can go to a private area to work, do it. Whether it be outside, in your kitchen, office, bedroom, or basement, if you’re out of sight from your children, you’re more likely to be able to get more done.
4. Headphones. Use noise cancelling headphones to optimize your focus time. Children can be loud, and blocking out the noise is sometimes critical for periods of time, if possible.
5. STOP. Print out a STOP sign to use as a visual. Teach your child that when the STOP sign is present, you are only available for emergencies.
6. Limit screen time. Reserve your child’s screen time for when it’s absolutely necessary, and encourage them to get creative with their time, and use their imagination. Studies have shown that when children experience boredom, they are more likely to to be motivated, creative, and imaginative.
7. Make a schedule. Plan your work time and breaks around your children’s schedules. If you know lunch time for your child is every day at 11am, try to block out this time, so other meetings are not scheduled. Likewise, if you know that your child typically takes a nap between 12-2pm, plan work time appropriately, so you can get the most out of this time.
8. Update your calendar. Add your “childcare duties” to your calendar and make it public, so others know when there may be an appearance of a little one if a meeting must be scheduled during this time.  
9. Exercise. Finding time for yourself is hard enough as a parent, but in our current situation, it’s even harder. Finding a few minutes for yourself to do something that you enjoy is critical for mental and physical health. 
10. Give yourself a pass. Some days will be harder than others, and you must remember to give yourself the flexibility to have “off” days. Some days, just getting through it will be enough - some days you just won’t have the energy for anything else, and that’s okay. 

Find what works for you. Give yourself time to adjust to the new norm, and don't be too hard on yourself. Our little ones are resilient, and they will be okay.