When you run a home business and you have children in school, one of the things that you have to prepare for is their summer vacation.
And since my children’s summer vacation is less than a month away, I know that I need to get cracking. So what does this mean exactly?
Well I think first of all, what it means is sitting down with your kids and having a discussion about some rules and boundaries. Your children need to understand that while a benefit in working from home is your availability to your children, it doesn’t mean that should be taken advantage of.
I really let this one go last summer. My children were constantly asking for me to “quick” drive them here and there. Pretty soon it felt like it was expected and my being inconvenienced didn’t matter at all.
It also means that your time working from home needs to be respected. I find it a challenge to convince others of my valuable work time because they somehow get the idea that working from home is a luxury. It definitely has its benefits but it also has its shares of detriments.
Barging in on you when you are working or dismissing your time as not being very worthy are just some examples of not showing respect. These are things you may need to discuss with your children.
But I think it’s also important that you establish some rules from all of this. For instance you might have a rule that your child has to knock on your office door, rather than just barge in.
You might also consider having a cute little sign that you hang on your door. If you are doing work where you absolutely cannot be bothered (for instance, talking on the phone to a client), then you can indicate that with a “Do not disturb” sign.
Or if you are working but you can be bothered…IF it is important (you might discuss with your children what constitutes as important), then your sign might read something like “Working.” Working means you are working but if it is necessary, you can be interrupted.
One thing I definitely plan on doing this year is establishing work hours. While I may go past those work hours, I at least want to establish a timeframe in which no other children can be here. I had kids coming and going at all times of the day last summer and it got to be very distracting and noisy at times.
So for instance this year it will be no children are allowed in my home until after 1:30 p.m. This alleviates the expectancy of me feeding other children lunch everyday and it gives me several hours of uninterrupted work time. If I find it necessary to continue working after 1:30 p.m., I will just have to make it happen.
I say this because I think it means giving and taking. My children also don’t want to spend the whole summer sitting indoors or not hanging out with friends. Compromise might need to be part of your plan.
What things will you do in order to prepare for your children’s summer vacation?
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