I have kids. I love them all, but they can be distracting at times. Normal work days 2/3rds to 5/6ths of them are in school and the house is pretty quiet, with a few bumps from the preschoolers. But during summer, or holiday breaks, or global pandemics, there are times when my house is full of family members who aren’t at work like I am. So how do I handle it?

My first set of points about this:

1. Set some expectations that your are “at work” and can’t respond to every little request all day.

1a. Having a door on your office or room you work helps with that. I know that is a challenge for those working from home only temporarily, but look for other ways to formalize some distance. It helps with the “I’m at work” state to have a physical indication.

2. Take breaks to interact with the family, like at lunch or afternoon walks.

3. Some music or controlled noise helps drown out background distractions.

4. Keep a list (at least mentally) of the things you wish you could do with them during the day so you can find other times to help with art projects or math problems.

It takes a bit of reinforcement and some consistency, so don’t give up if the first day has a lot of interruptions.

Also, everyone should agree that ‘working from home’ is not a substitute for good child care. You won’t be doing your job honestly if you claim to be working but spend all your day doing stuff for the family.  Flexibility to watch your kids for a bit while your spouse runs to the store or an appointment is great, but don’t abuse it and expect to be successful.

I’m sure we will see lots of posts about this in the next few weeks, and here is a good one to keep from going crazy.