Tips for Working from Home with Family.
How to make the physical distance work for your Family.
When troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy - James 1:2.
Many parents have wondered how they are going to cope with the stay at home policy. Working from home is another challenge to many parents as they wonder how to combine office work and home management at the same time. Some parents are 'blessed' with hyperactive children, who play a lot and scatter things on their way as they play. Sometimes you need to shout, correcting and guiding continuously to ensure they don't injure themselves or damage vital properties and/or documents at home.
To so many parents, school is not only to educate their children and make them useful and relevant in society, but it is also, a means of easing off and reducing the stress of training their children all by themselves. While the teachers continue from where they stop for the period of time they will be in school, parents have little time to rest. Also to some parents, going to the office for work is a time they free themselves a little from the family stress. But the stay at home and work from home have jam-packed everything for parents and have made it complicated for so many parents to cope. This article, therefore, provides parents with some tips that will help them make working from home and home management workable.
Physical distancing has presented parents with challenges that most of us have never faced before. Even if you already considered your family to be your primary ministry, adjusting to working at home can blur the line between family life and work life.
Many of us are parents, so just like you, I have been looking for strategies that will work for my family. Below are just a few approaches suggested by some experts that I have found so far useful. While we realize every family has unique circumstances, I hope you’ll find something here that’s helpful.
1. Communicate, collaborate, and coordinate
When troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy - James 1:2.
If both parents are trying to work from home, remember that you’re on the same team together. Try to set up a schedule that suits everyone. Some of us are taking shifts, where one parent works from 8:30 am to 12:00 pm, while the other cares for the kids, then switching from 12:30 pm to 5:00 pm. Make a plan, but leave room to be flexible.
…Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults…
EPHESIANS 4:2.
2. Include Your Kids
Ask your children to “help” in ways that make sense for their ages. You might help them make a “Time to Work” sign for you, then explain that when you hang it on the door, that means you need to concentrate. Help them make special artwork for your workspace—especially if you’ll be in video meetings. Your kids are more likely to respect boundaries between work time and family time if they feel invested in both.
Imprint these words of mine on your hearts and minds… Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. DEUTERONOMY 11:18-19.
3. Set Realistic Expectations
“Productivity” looks different right now than it did three months ago. And, most of the people you work with are likely dealing with issues very similar to yours. Be a living example of the things you hope to receive from others. Give grace to your coworkers, to your children, and to yourself.
The Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Galatians 5:22-23.
4. See this as an Opportunity
Parents should see this condition as a great opportunity to spend quality time with their children. As a husband, spend quality time and show unusual love and care to your wife and children. Also, this is the time for the wife to spend quality time with her husband and children, showing them, especially her husband, unusual love, care, and submission.
As much as you can, enjoy this time you have together with your family. It may be hard to remember right now, but just a few months ago, many of us were trying to find ways to spend more time with our kids, husband, and wife. It’s true that our current circumstances come with real challenges. But, it’s also true that we have the power to choose how we respond. We can see them as setbacks that are causing us pain, or as opportunities to draw our families closer than ever.
All Rights Reserved
Nwoko Solomon Ikechukwu
Comments
Post a Comment