Parenting—among the stirring yet palpably challenging opportunities in life—is a complex job and perhaps the toughest in the world. It does not merely concern yourself who might experience a total burnout along the cycle but your child's favorable growth for his bright future as well.
Balancing many spinning plates appears difficult to achieve nowadays. When you're a functioning mom or dad, raising your kids involves a great variation. Work from home has become a struggle due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and juggling between professional life and parenting responsibilities is making it at the forefront of new normal activities. In essence, it is what we all are striving for.
Parents at the Ripple VAs team are all-too-familiar with this,
and yet, we sought to share five thoughtful pointers to
help you hit the reset button:
1. Lay primacies for the day. Sometimes, you get so overpowered by multiple objectives that you skip setting priorities. You cannot say you don't have enough time to perform a bunch of tasks in a day; you just have to clear your priorities ahead by making a To-Do checklist or planner and delegating tasks to your spouse and kids. Managing round-the-clock schedules, especially when at home, will maximize the time and energy you have in rearing your kids and executing your work altogether.
2. Dedicate a working boundary. Establishing a limit or border in the workspace you have at home will serve as signage on how the rest of your family members will behave around it. On the other hand, setting rules for yourself when you can and cannot open your smartphone can be ideal so that not a single time gets robbed or wasted. It does not mean you have to divorce yourself from social media leisures but to ensure that respect in your work is present at any event.
3. Uncover the parent side of you. There may be times that you get tired and exhausted at work, but being a parent is satisfying. However, some soft-pedaled their parenthood duties to look stern with their company's commitment. There is no reason for you to deal with secret parenting because this pandemic gives every working parent no option. And it just has to be said: behind this man or woman's persona appearing on the screen is a parent with an adamant drive.
4. Be physically active. Taking a good rest might be challenging as there will always be unexpected situations that can ruin your fixed schedule. Thus, don't keep yourself stuck in the chair. Don't omit on noise-free instants when your mind could be off duty because it is so easy to go flexible at home. Stretch out and take good care of your body as your family depends on you. More importantly, it is always better to be refreshed than to get stressed!
5. Don't displace your stress. As businesses realize that working from home can work, the related pressures (e.g. frustrations, overthinking) they bring may pent-up your emotions. Find a means to discharge this erratic anxiety but not to the point where your family may perceive it as anger. It is noteworthy to value your relationships with them more than your career.
Providing bread and butter for the family has become a little tricky to deal with, given that financial crises and economic changes are present today. Your children might be too young to discern how rigorous your job is, but remember that it is not the quantity of time handy to nurture them that creates ripple effects; it is the quality of bonding moments or plentitude of love that you share that sums.
