As A WFH Mom, Here’s How I Survive In The Times Of COVID-19

Since I have been a WFH mom (work-from-home mom) for a while now, adapting to the current situation wasn’t that big a deal for me. Here are some tips.

People across the world are facing the challenge of work from home amid Covid-19 breakout. Some have successfully managed to convert their work online as much as possible. But for people who were already working from home, there is an issue now especially those who have kids and now without maids.

I am saying it because I am facing this challenge daily. I used to work 4-5 hours daily from home when my kids were in school. In this manner, I am able to sustain my dream job (although I am freelancer!) and still focus on kids afterwards. 

I’m not just a WFH mom!

After having a slight mental breakdown, I finally realized one thing, I am not alone! My family, my husband is with me (even in household chores!), and India’s 21 days lockdown is here to stay.

It is time to get home as well as professional life on track. 

There are many jobs which are still sustaining in times of corona, so we should focus on opportunity instead of worrying on the issue of Coronavirus spread. I have been at home, following precautions and maintaining strict personal hygiene. After that, I need to do my professional work as it is my creative outlet, which I am sure may be case for some of you. 

Decreased productivity, but –

In China, there was lockdown of seven weeks, and even if lockdown is removed, schools may be closed or have turned to online classes(as a precautionary measure). So we cannot assume that things will become normal for sure after 14th April 2020. We will still have kids to monitor in our working hours, even if the house helps will start working.

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I have been worried about decreased work productivity, then realized that almost the whole world is facing the same situation, and WFH concept is new for them. I already had high-speed internet and office infrastructure setup as a WFH mom, so no extra delay due to this. Brainstorming, online work analytics, zoom meetings and virtual team conferences are nothing new for me either.

I do not have a significant psychological impact of WFH as I always worked alone without colleagues interaction. My kids know that when I am doing WFH, I need privacy and my office is at home. Sometimes, there is kids’ noise in the background, but that’s okay! Internet is flooding with people sharing images of working with preschoolers. 

No concept of weekdays / weekend

In all this, I have realized one more thing, the concept of weekdays does not matter in times of coronavirus. I work every day as and when I get time.

There are ways to log your work hours manually – if you already use those means, then ask your client permission to enter manual work hours. I have done the same. 

Keeping work hours/ social media time separate

People are facing the challenge of temporal issue, they are mixing working hours with internet surfing due to lack of office environment. I am facing this issue since long as a WFH mom, and know that laptop time is work time, not the time to read the news or browse internet unnecessarily. 

I spend little to no time on news websites and focus on getting work done. As the number of cases rises in India and World pandemic affected population is increasing at an exponential pace, I was getting mental stress about the condition and had the inclination to check the news every hour. Now I follow news once in the night for critical updates. 

Does your school provide online classes?

Some of the schools are providing online classes for children, so we need to set aside time for kids education also. I was already managing work according to kids education schedule, so there is not much change in this setting also. 

Overall, I realised that since I was already a WFH mom, nothing much has changed for me. With family support and workarounds, I can keep my professional life healthy and running like before. 

Image source: unsplash

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