At the beginning of the quarantine, I think I had convinced myself that my home office environment would have a very similar feel to my external work environment. Sure, there would be the occasional disruption, but I’m sure we would all find a rhythm and our own spaces to work, play or “take thinking breaks” (taken from the preschool playbook for my four year old, but probably not a bad concept to implement for myself).
I have quickly realized that this new “rhythm” means talking, screaming, crying, laughing, running and eating at inopportune times, all at the same time, at extreme octaves and with endless enthusiasm.
During the first week I would cast a hand over my son’s face whenever he got within camera reach during my work conference calls. Now I let his curly head walk into camera view, holding an orange sharpie that has lost the lid, while tattling on his sister, and initiating crucial conversations about finding a bug in the bathroom.
I was getting really good at perfecting the “this is really not a good time to talk to mommy, so get out of the office and fend for yourself” face.
But it wasn’t working.
Not that it wasn’t effective (at times). I’d really gotten good at that face in such a short time. But it just didn’t feel right.
It didn’t feel good.
We were all getting used to a new normal and while I hadn’t anticipated them getting all up in my space, they hadn’t anticipated me not being able to get up all in theirs.
I imagine this is what it’s like when we take kids into stores with shiny things and tell them they can’t touch any of it.
Except in this example, mom is the shiny thing.
It was sad for all of us.
So, now things are a little different.
My son’s head pops into my conference call camera view on the daily. I sometimes mute the microphone so my daughter can ask me compelling questions like, “what can I have for a snack?”, or “can you come to the bathroom with me?”.
Here are 5 tips I’ve learned for keeping my sanity while working from home during quarantine.
Stop trying to fight it all of the time – as someone who enjoys thinking I have things somewhat under control, this has been tough. But really, if I’m just going for ‘somewhat’, then I’m probably still doing pretty well. They can be somewhat distracted. I can get reports out in somewhat of the same timeframe. You can only do what you can do. Stop trying to do more than that.
Have plenty of snacks for everyone – my friend sent me this meme about quarantine snacks. Like, pretty much they happen about every thirty minutes (maybe less), regardless of if a meal was just consumed. It’s so true! So have snacks ready. Goldfish, almonds, fruit snacks, apples, leftover pizza (yup, this is now in both the lunch and snack category), string cheese. Options are a blessing at this time. If your child just had a snack and wants another, don’t fight it. I mean, unless you think you have time for that battle before the next conference call.
Carve out quiet time – we all need it! My son still takes naps so this pretty much dictates the timing. My daughter is over it, but she gets that I’m not asking her to sleep during this time, she just has to do something quietly by herself. I can put on a movie or print her out some coloring pages (thank you Crayola), but this is time for her to rest.
Get up and get outside – it’s amazing what a ten minute hunt for roly polys can do. I never used to get out at the office for a quick walk, but I feel like this is always encouraged. Or sometimes the noise level can get to be too much. Just stand up and get out. Soak up a few minutes of vitamin D, let the little ones run around and be reminded of the gift of time you have with family. Tense moments naturally cloud our view of this (no blaming here).
Find your favorite blankie – I have found my favorite lap blanket and I use it daily. Sit in my office chair, power up the computer, lay said blanket over my lap. It’s the little things that might bring us some comfort during this time. What little thing can you have now, that you couldn’t have in the office? Your favorite pajama pants? Comfy slippers? Take advantage of it. There’s no shame in wanting to find a tangible piece of silver lining, even if it comes in the form of a reasonably priced sherpa blanket from Costco.
We’ll get through this mom.
😘 You ROCK!