The top two priorities of every mum in COVID-19 are how to work from home and at the same time ensure that she is productive.
So, if you are looking for how to create an age-by-age schedule that won’t stress you out, you’ve come to the right place.
Below are easy-to-adapt schedules to help you stay productive and keep sane working from home with your kids.
First things first:
1. Opt For A Schedule Cheat
It is only understandable that your first instinct at such perilous time would be to draw up a chart, a schedule, something, that keeps the kids engaged while you bend your head to some work.
A time to sleep, play, study, eat and do other things.
If your kids are anything like mine, it would only be a matter of what, 18 minutes?
Before your attention is needed to settle an ensuing argument or clarify something and you end up on the floor watching Sonic the Hedgehog with them.
If a strict schedule is adding more stress and making an already tough situation, tougher, let it go for a while.
Allow yourself (and your lads) the freedom to just be. Spontaneity, they say, is the seasoning of life.
Take on this quarantine experience from another view and you might just find that you emerge from your unstructured time a lot more productive and revitalized, ready to take on the next task.
2. Delegation – Even To Toddlers – Will Save You
Creating boundaries with your teens and adolescents might actually work, telling them that from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. you need to be in your “office” taking calls or sending emails.
But try telling that to any kid under, say, 4 years, and you might be met with screams and tantrums.
One of the cardinal rules of juggling a strict workload is learning the art of delegation.
So the next time you need to get some work done, try delegating important tasks, like assembling Legos (this might buy you some time), or asking your adolescent kid to help mummy tackle some math problems for her job – which is not directly for any job except the one of buying yourself some time-.
Or maybe you recruit them as your assistants, with the very important task of drawing pictures for 20 minutes (you can set a kitchen timer, making it more fun for them).
And of course, if you have a partner, you can delegate to them too, telling them to watch the kids for a few hours so you can get some work done.
Also, taking turns to watch the kids if both of you work is another way to get around a quarantine schedule that won’t stress you out while being productive.
3. Create A Reward System
A work environment can easily get boring without bonuses, incentives, or what some people may call bribes.
If there’s a pressing task to handle and you’re getting truly desperate for some quality work time, it’s perfectly alright to acknowledge “desperate times call for desperate measures” and resort to employing one of them.
Be it extending their TV/Computer time, gifting them soft drinks or cookies, if your kids are good and quiet from, say, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. each day, they can partake in that special hour starting at 3:05 p.m.
Bribes Incentives do work – and there is no shame in featuring them in your work from home quarantine schedule, at a crucial time like this.
4. Give Yourself Some Accolades
Maybe you had to extend a few deadlines, or you missed a call because your baby caught a fever that got you so worried you completely lost track of time.
It’s time to promote yourself!
Seriously, working from home with kids is hard, so cut yourself some slack, give yourself some accolades, and maybe even a (mental) promotion.
You’re killing it out there, even if you just got desperate and added three more hours of Cartoon Network time to your kids’ daily schedule. You’re doing great, don’t let anyone make you believe otherwise.
If you still feel you need a standard schedule to give you a semblance of structure regardless and more effective life helps you balance out your now work-from-home lifestyle, here is an age by age Kids Quarantine Schedule that won’t stress you out:
Working From Home With A Baby:
7:00 a.m. Wake your baby up, fed, showered, and dressed
8:00 a.m. Be Active. Take a walk outside, or try out some simple low-intensity workout or Yoga- YouTube is a great friend.
9:00 a.m. Activate Baby/Toddler helpers. Try babywearing or asking your toddler to help with work. Give him/her a stack of papers, an old phone, or a non-functional computer and let them work next to you as you do simple computer tasks like emails and make a breakdown of your tasks for the day.
10:00 a.m. Snack and nap time for baby. Toddlers can play with independent toys nearby while you get to do some work.
Between Noon And Bedtime
12:00 p.m. Lunch and outside time. Take lunch together and then head outside. An activity as elementary as having the babysit in the stroller with a change of scenery and fresh air can make a world of difference. Toddlers will love sandbox time or free play.
You can take some work outside (the lawn/yard) with you.
1:00 p.m. Books and video. Some designated reading, an hour or two on Nickelodeon is a great way to wind down. This gives you a chance to work.
2:00 p.m. Afternoon nap for baby or toddler. Serene work time.
4:00 p.m. Be engaged. We all know how crazy these predinner hours can be. If you can play with your littles now, it will help keep things windless.
5:00 p.m. Dinner
6:00 p.m. Bath time. If you are two parents are home, this is a great time to give one parent some quiet time for work or rest.
7:00 p.m. Family time & bedtime.
8:00 p.m. Finish any work you can and draft plans for the next day.
9:00 p.m. Take a break. Give yourself time to relax.
10:00 p.m. Bed! You need all the rest you possibly can get.
Work From Home With A Toddler Or Preschooler:
Kids this age have two speeds: advance and stop. Hence, your goal will be to keep them engaged and active (while still getting work done) in this quarantine period. Like earlier mentioned, a day stuffed with activities and no schedule whatsoever is absolutely fine. But if you are in the mood to give one a try, you might consider something like this:
7:00 a.m. Get Set. Wake everyone up, fed, showered, and dressed.
8:00 a.m. Be Active. Take a walk outside, or try out some simple low-intensity workout routines or Yoga- YouTube is a great friend.
9:00 a.m. Activate Little Helpers. Ask your toddler or preschooler to do some work with mummy.
Give him or her some paper and crayons and an old phone or a computer with a word processor open to type their “work.”
You can right next to him or her and explain some of what you do for simple tasks like email or a Zoom call with a colleague who also has their child home, and why mummy needs all the quiet she can get.
10:00 a.m. Snack and independent play in the sitting room or their room. Ensure the space is safe.
11:00 a.m. TV time for them while you continue working
Afternoon
12:00 p.m. Lunch and outside time. Eat lunch together and then head outside. Sandbox time, Legos, or free play. You can bring some work outside with you.
1:00 p.m. Study and quiet time. Gather some pillows and blankets and a stack of books to make a reading nook. You continue working.
2:00 p.m. Nap time. You can join in too if your work schedule permits.
3:00 p.m. Playtime. Crafts, coloring, Legos, Computer/Mobile games.
4:00 p.m. Be engaged. We all know how crazy these predinner hours can be. If you can play with your littles now, it will help keep things serene.
5:00 p.m. Dinner time.
6:00 p.m. Bath time. If you are two parents are home, this is a great time to give one parent some quiet time for work or rest.
7:00 p.m. Family time & bedtime.
8:00 p.m. Finish any work you can and draft plans for the next day.
9:00 p.m. Take a break. Give yourself time to relax.
10:00 p.m. Bed! You need all the rest you possibly can get.
Work From Home With Kids Ages 5-10:
Attaining a balance between continuous growth (meaningful learning opportunities), physical activity, and rest is key for our elementary-age kids.
Consider these ideas for setting your work from home quarantine schedule that won’t stress you out:
7:00 a.m. Get Set. Wake everyone up, and shower.
8:00 a.m. Family breakfast
8:30 a.m. Clean up rooms. Email, Work time
9:00 a.m. Academic activity 1 commences for them. Consider working nearby to help as needed
9:45 a.m. Break and snack
10:00 a.m. Academic 2. Finish activities from earlier. Work time for you.
11:00 a.m. TV time / Work
Afternoon
12:00 p.m. Lunch and outside play / Work nearby
1:30 p.m. Craft or coloring / Work nearby
2:30 p.m. Computer activity / Work nearby
3:15 p.m. Family activity (game, cooking, art project)
4:00 p.m. Kids free time / Work as needed until dinner
6:00 p.m. Family dinner & walk or play outside
7:00 p.m. Family TV time
7:30 p.m. Baths & and PJs
8:00 p.m. Kids Bedtime / Finish work, prepare for the next day
9:00 p.m. Relax
Work From Home With Kids Ages 10-12:
With the increased ability to work independently, teens will appreciate having downtime as well as check-ins from you to stay on track. A few things to try:
8:00 a.m. Family breakfast
8:30 a.m. Clean up rooms, Email, Work time.
9:00 a.m. Academic 1. Utilize any resources from school to keep up with learning. Work nearby to help as needed
10:00 a.m. Snack & Break
10:30 a.m. Helpful Job – With everyone at home things may need extra cleaning. Assign a job like vacuuming a room or cleaning the bathrooms. Work as needed.
You may also find our article on Coronavirus Lockdown: 22 Educational Kids’ Content on NETFLIX helpful
11:00 a.m. Academic 2. Finish activities from earlier or try new things like Adventure Kids or spend time on any educational app. Work, checking in once or twice to make sure kids are on task.
Afternoon
12:00 p.m. Lunch and break. Work time if you want.
1:30 p.m. Creative time such as crafts, Legos. coloring or baking. Work time for you
2:30 p.m. Free time / Work time
5:00 p.m. Dinner & Walk
7:00 p.m. Electronics time / Finish up work
8:30 p.m. Kids get ready for bed
9:00 p.m. Bedtime for kids. Time for you to relax and do anything else.
Work From Home With Teenagers:
While they may seem completely independent, teens are likely to need a framework for how to best spend their time. Here’s a sample:
7:00 a.m. Work time
8:30 a.m. Wake up, shower, breakfast
9:30 a.m. Learning time for any school assigned learning materials. If there is nothing assigned, give them a novel to engage them. You can also check out some educational learning platforms reading or some comprehensive educational manual/workbook if you or your partner can find the time to compose one.
11:30 a.m. Games, social media, or internet time / Work time for you
Afternoon
12:00 p.m. Lunchtime
1:00 p.m. Reading time / Work time
2:00 p.m. Finish learning activities / Work time
3:00 p.m. Free time / Work time
5:30 p.m. Dinner & Family time
7:00 p.m. Free time
10:00 p.m. Bedtime
Conclusion:
Every family is unique in its own way.
It is now up to you to take some and remove some from the above sample quarantine schedule until you arrive at something that works for your house.
Remember, your top priority while working from home is to create a quarantine schedule that helps you stay productive and won’t stress you out and make things more difficult than they already are.
Till you arrive at one that works for you, no pressure. We will see the end of this pandemic soon.
