Tips for Surviving Work & Children in the Virtual Office
By Jen Barrier-ETMG Project Manager
People often wonder how I work at home so effectively with three children. It isn’t always easy, but once you discipline yourself and your family it’s the best of both worlds. It’s more challenging for the youngest who is 3, she doesn’t always understand like my 11- and 14-year old do. Here are some tips that have helped me survive the balancing act.
Set boundaries and stick to them
Our rules are pretty simple: door shut=Mom is not here. When Mom is on the phone, don’t interrupt unless someone is bleeding or the cat is on fire. When Mom is in the middle of typing a proposal, wait until she stops until you speak. Simple enough rules that everyone, including my husband, can understand.
Communicate
Make sure you’re sharing your day with your spouse and your children. Don’t expect your family to know when you’re under deadline and have three people demanding deliverables. They’re not in your world and can’t be expected to know what you’re trying to manage. There is nothing worse than not communicating and finding out you have to do a presentation in the car with the kids in the back seat because your husband also has an off-site meeting and can’t pick them up. Bribery works really well here.
Establish a routine
It’s important to have a routine so your children know when you’re available to them and when they need to stay clear. In our home, they know I am typically available right after school to share a story from their day, or get started on homework. If you give your family a chunk of quality time it usually means less interruptions later. There are many times I can’t take time to greet them and I pay for it later by having everyone parade in begging for attention. No one wins here—especially me. I end up with my hair on end and a least one drama-queen freaking out in the corner.
Have a sense of humor
Let’s face it, you may hear my dog barking in the background, my girls giggling like fiends, or even a shriek when the toddler isn’t getting her way. Obviously this is something you’re challenged with constantly and want to avoid. When it does happen, you have to roll with it. Most coworkers and clients understand and think little of it. I’ll never forget being on a business call thinking I was on mute and the little one running in very proudly telling me she went potty on the potty chair. Definitely got a chuckle!
Stay professional
Even though you may be brushing your daughter’s hair or throwing in a load of laundry while on a conference call, you must always stay professional with your clients and make your activities invisible to them.
There is an art to balancing your work and home tasks and when it’s done well, both your clients and your family will reap the benefits. Give them both the time and attention they deserve and they will appreciate your dedication in the end.
Read Part 2: Surviving Work & Children in the Virtual Office, Part 2
These are great tips to implement even if you don’t have children, sometimes family, friends or other visitors don’t understand that you really are working when you work from home. It’s important to set boundaries for all the people in your life to maintain some balance.
Jen, I too had an 8 year old at home working virtually. I remember saying to her “unless you are on fire, don’t interrupt me!” BUT we had some great quality time at 3pm every day doing homework and chatting about her day and having a snack. It’s all about the balance.
Excellent blog!!! Solid, do-able advice! I started in the virtual office world with a 3 year old and a 9 year old. Though the work for my job was always done at the end of the day, until I instilled the boundaries into my kids, there was often someone running around half-dressed or screaming like a banchee….usually that someone was ME!
Happy to share my experience….I think this will be the first of many more blogs to come!
Great advice – sounds like boundaries are the key and you have them set. Good advice! I look forard to your next blog!
Please write a sequel titled “Tips for Surviving Work and Your Oldest Child (aka Husband) in the Virtual Office! I have many of the same rules as you when it comes to my children, but they don’t work so well on the husband! He has every other Friday off, and he seems to think that when he has the day off, I do, too! Maybe I need to start writing “Honey Do” lists every other Thursday night!
My family has lived with my home office for close to 13 years now. They get it. Even the dog, Rexx, gets it. Everyday the mailman shows up and Rexx (a 7 pound Chihuahua) goes running out the office to the front door–jumping up and down wildly, barking like he is on fire. When the door is closed, with Rexx in my office, he just lays there and gives little more then a soft gurgle.
Adding to Jen’s suggestions, it’s all about text messaging in our house. The kids, while in the living room, just outside my closed office door, will text me asking their very important question. Texting allows them to be heard. They know I have received their message and I will respond when I can. Texting allows me to either address the issue immediately (like, roll the dog up in paper to extinguish the fire) or I can wait until I am ready to respond. Texting brings a sense of harmony to the home office.
This was a great read! And I love Michael’s suggestion above about texting. I have a notebook that I keep on my desk next to my computer and every day it starts with “the TO DO: “My kids have figured out that it is best to write me notes in the notebook while they wait for my conference to call to end. I’ll never forget my favorite entry by my youngest: “”TO DO (underlined for emphasis) BUY Lego Star Wars for PS3 because it is EPIC!! – Yeah – that one definitely needed to wait until I was off the client call.
[...] writing my last blog, Tips for Surviving Work and Children in the Virtual Office, I wondered how my clients might react learning that for many years I’ve managed their projects [...]