Everyone’s circumstances are different so some of these things may or may not work for you. These are some things that have personally helped me productively work from home with my toddler. Leave a comment if any of these worked for you or if you have other things I should add to the list!

1. Grace
   • First and foremost, give yourself some grace. Every day isn’t going to be sunshine and rainbows and there may be days you will feel some parent guilt. Trying to work while keeping a child alive and happy is difficult. There will be times that you will have to prioritize work over your kid and sometimes when you have to prioritize your kid over work. This does not mean that you lock your child in a room alone so you can work. It means making the decision when you need to prioritize work over being active with your child. For me, these times are when I am in a meeting with a customer. I need to be fully attentive to the customer and unfortunately, sometimes these meetings line up when my son is awake. During these times, I will let him watch TV or give him a special toy to play with. Do I feel mom guilt when my son watches TV for an hour while I am in an important meeting? Absolutely. Believe me when I say that giving myself grace is something I have to work on every day. And something my husband has to remind me of after a long hard day. You are doing great and are doing the best you can with what you have.
2. Test Out Different Schedules
   • The schedule I had when my son was a newborn is vastly different than what it is now. I used to work 8 am – 5 pm. When my son was a newborn, this worked just fine. However, as he got older and his nap schedules changed, I decided to try out a couple of different schedules to see what worked best. Now, I start work at 6 am and get off around 3 pm. This allows me to get almost two hours of work done before my son even wakes up (he typically wakes up between 7:30 and 8 am every day). Then I work with him awake for three hours, until he goes down for a 2-3 hour nap. That way, out of my 8-hour day, I only have to work with my son awake for three hours. This does depend on your child’s sleep schedule and your work schedule. If your work is flexible, try a couple of schedules and see what works best for you. Even though I don’t like waking up at 6 am, it does make my day much easier and I am overall less stressed.
3. Use the Tools You Have
   • Kids are entertained by a lot of things, especially when they aren’t toys. So, if you need to focus and your child wants your full attention (or they won’t play with their toys), use things around the house for a DIY activity. I will write a blog about some activities that have worked well for my son. I will link it here once it is written.
   • If you are in an important meeting, using technology to your advantage is okay. I typically don’t let my son watch TV or use an iPad, but when I really need him to be self-sufficient, I let him watch a show on the TV or iPad. Since he doesn’t get to do that very often, it is a treat for him and keeps him entertained.
   • Another thing you can do, is give your child a fun treat they don’t get very often or a toy they only get to play with on special occasions. This is similar to the TV idea above since you are giving them access to something they don’t get very often. This should help them stay content while you have to focus.
   • If you have a work phone, try using that for a meeting and take your kid outside to play on the swing. Or use some good noise canceling and noise suppression headphones for meetings while your child is being loud while playing.
4. Be Mobile
   • During the work day, I only spend about half of the time in my actual office, the rest of the time I am in the kitchen, in the nursery, downstairs, sitting on the floor etc. If you can, bring your laptop around the house so your child doesn’t feel cooped up in one room. While your child is eating, bring your laptop and sit with them at the table. Or play on the ground when they need that extra attention. One of my favorite (and my son’s favorite) activities is bathtime. My son loves playing in the bath and will stay happy in there for 30 or more minutes. This allows me to get a lot of work done. However, it does mean I spend 30 or so minutes sitting on the toilet lid while working. But hey, whatever works right? One good thing about being mobile is that you can set up “stations” throughout the house to keep your child entertained while you work. For me, we have five main areas that my son plays in during the day: the nursery, my office, the kitchen/family room, the bathroom, and the music room. I have different toys and activities set up in each room that keep him occupied. For the most part, they are just different toys or books, but regardless, going into a different room and having “new” or “different” things to play with keeps him happy and helps him not need my complete attention. I am looking forward to it being summer so that I can add the backyard to the rotation.
   • It can be difficult to stay completely focused while being mobile, so I suggest using this time to do work items that require less of your attention. I like to use this time to check emails or do small tasks that I have been putting off. This is nice because I can focus for 5-10 minutes at a time to get a task done before being interrupted by my son. I also have a decent number of meetings throughout the week and honestly, if it’s a meeting that I don’t have to speak in, sometimes it’s better to do those meetings while he is awake. Then I can get more work done while he is sleeping instead of listening to a meeting. If possible, I like to have my son take a bath or eat a meal while I am in a meeting.
5. Work While the Baby Sleeps
   • It can be so tempting to clean up, put the dishes away, or fold laundry while the baby is sleeping, but don’t do it! Use this time to get some solid work done while you don’t have any distractions. Believe me, I like my house clean and get anxious when my house is a mess, so this has been a difficult habit to break. I have to remind myself that getting work done is more important than having the toys picked up in the middle of the day. I had to train myself to just make myself something to eat once my son goes down for his nap, and then shut myself in my office to work. I will be writing another blog about how I stay on top of housework soon. Read it here!

None of these ideas is a one-size-fits-all, so try them out and change them however you need. I will be going into more detail about how I specifically implement some of these ideas, so subscribe to get notified when they are published! Also, let me know in the comments if there is anything else that you have tried that works for you while working at home with your child!