How to Work at Home With Kids

Setting up a home office so you can work and spend time with your young kids might sound like a dream--the perfect way to balance job and family. If you are the primary caregiver, however, getting any work done while giving your children the attention and focus they need can be a logistical and emotional nightmare. Whether you're planning to work full-time or part-time from a home office or just squeeze a few hours in here and there, you'll need a realistic plan.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Arranging child care

1. Find child care for the hours you work to avoid neglecting your kids or your job or both (see 263 Arrange Quality Child Care). Hire an in-home caregiver or enroll your child in day care or preschool. If your job demands fluctuate, consider trading off with other work-at-home parents, so the kids play at your house one day and the other house the next. For a full-time job, on-again, off-again child care won't cut it.
2. Create a plan that covers your child care needs for summertime and holidays as well as during the school year. Also consider before- and aftercare needs in the event you have to attend a meeting and can't pick your kids up on time.
3. Work with your children's schedules--not against them--if you're trying to get work done without additional child care. Set up your hours so that you're working at night while they're asleep and in the daytime during naps and while they're at school.

Creating a balance

4. Keep your office space clean and organized (see 196 Add a Workspace to Any Room and 197 Organize a Home Office). Make sure that your kids know this area is off-limits.
5. Schedule meetings or conference calls for when your children are in school or at day care. If you need to meet with clients, look into shared conference rooms, such as at entrepreneur business centers. Many charge a reasonable monthly fee for a business phone number, professional answering service, mailing address and package receiving.
6. Use your cellular phone, instead of your home line, as your business phone. The kids won't pick it up by mistake or forget to give you messages. And you can deduct it at tax time.
7. Carve out time for your children when you're done with work. Whether it's playtime or dinnertime, make a commitment to your kids that when you're done working, you're done. Resist the seduction of multitasking every possible moment. Make your children your top priority when you're off-duty. They know if you're truly paying attention or just going through the motions.

Tips & Warnings

• Every family needs to find the balance that works for them. Review 14 Balance Home and Work.
• Make a list of what you need to do the next day before you turn in for the night (see 3 Write an Effective To-Do List). That way, you can relax and concentrate on the task at hand without being afraid details will fall through the cracks.
• Synch your work calendar with the family schedule. See 266 Coordinate a Family Calendar.
• If the whole family shares a computer, establish firm rules regarding who's online when. See 281 Create a Schedule for Family Computer Use.
• Work out a system with older children to let them know when they need to be quiet. For example, when your work phone rings, the TV volume goes off and any fighting stops.
• Research working from home before you take the plunge. You'll find helpful advice in books such as Working from Home by Paul and Sarah Edwards and on Web sites such as WorkingSolo.com and Workat- Home Moms (wahm.com).

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