I’m here to tell you, you’re not alone. If you’re working from home while quarantined with kids during the COVID-19 pandemic, you are in the midst of, most likely, one of the most challenging times in your life. (Along with hundreds of thousands of others.)

Before we share some tips and strategies for making your remote work a little bit smoother, remember that nobody is perfect. Some days will be more challenging than others and there will (hopefully) be an abundance of silver linings to come with the obstacles. Just try to take things day by day and give yourself a little break.

Over Communicate

Communication is critical right now. Working remotely is different ball-game and many of us have had to pivot, quickly. It’s easy for communication to get muddy, words to be misinterpreted, and productivity to fall when teams aren’t working cohesively.

So, if you have an employer, communicate with your boss and your team as much as possible. Be transparent about your schedule and the challenges that come along with trying to work while taking care of kids. They should be understanding.

The same advice goes for if you are a boss or if you’re self-employed. Communicate with the team members who look to you for guidance, or your clients, business partners, etc. Establishing an honest flow of communication will help set expectations, boundaries, and assure that there are fewer misunderstandings or dropped balls.

2. If You Have a Partner, Work Together

If you are fortunate enough to be with a partner while taking care of your kids and working remotely, you should be able to lean on one another and work out a more balanced system.

Balance is key. Make sure you don’t fall into the trap of putting a higher value on one partner’s work over the other, whether one is more financially lucrative or not. If you are both continuing your work during quarantine, both jobs are important and deserving of time and energy.

Work out a system with your partner. Maybe you trade-off mornings and afternoons, or days of the week. You’ll have to do some trial and error. But, again, be sure to communicate as much as possible and make sure you are both leaning on one another for support.

3. Create a Schedule, But Stay Flexible

It’s 2020. I think it’s fair to say not everything has gone according to plan. That’s why when you build your schedule, try to leave a little wiggle room for the unexpected. It may seem like without commuting, shuttling kids around, or buzzing around town to different appointments, you’d be able to accomplish more in the day, but that’s not necessarily true.

First, figure out the best scheduling system for you and your family. Some people work better with physically written notes, a desk calendar, to-do list, etc., whereas some prefer everything organized on mobile.

Here are a few great apps to check out that can help you stay organized. Wunderlist, Todoist, Monday, Any.do.

4. Utilize the “Eisenhower Box”

The Eisenhower Matrix or Eisenhower Box is a fantastic way to organize your tasks, boost your productivity, and reduce work that’s unnecessary.

You can do this for work and for your to-do list for your personal life. First, make a list of all of the daily tasks that you have to accomplish. Sort them into 4 categories: (1) Urgent and important, (2) Important but not urgent, (3) Urgent but not important, and (4) Not urgent and not important.

Do everything in category 1 first and everything in category 2 later. Everything in category 3 you should delegate to someone else. And finally, everything in category 4 should be totally eliminated! This will help you get rid of unnecessary busy work or tasks that really are nonessential. (Saving you time and helping boost your daily productivity.)

5. Separation is Important

Remember that it’s important to maintain some separation between work and family, as hard as that may seem. If you try to do it all at the same time, you’ll end up doing everything in a mediocre way. There will be times that you need to be “half-watching” the kids while checking emails or finishing up a project. That’s okay! (That’s also where screen-time can come in handy.) But try to stick to designated work hours and designated off hours.

We live in a go-go-go, productivity-driven society. So even outside of a pandemic, it’s sometimes tough for us to “turn it off.” Set some real boundaries and try to stick to them. If you’re tempted to log back on when you’re in the middle of designated family/kids time, try to put the issue into perspective. Is it truly urgent? If yes, go for it. If no, let it go until later. (The world should keep spinning.)

6. Have a System or Code for “No Interruptions”

Sometimes work tasks can be ranked by level of seriousness or attention-required. Maybe you have some tasks that are easier to do with distractions or while holding a little one. Other times you may have serious work-time that requires extreme focus or quiet.

I like to designate 9AM - 1PM every day as my “serious work time.” I tackle my most daunting tasks, schedule my important phone calls, and I let my partner know - no interruptions.

Perhaps you have a time block and everyone knows not to interrupt during those hours. Or, if your work requires a little bit more “on and off,” you might consider a system where you tie a red ribbon on the door if you need to be left alone.

Of course, emergencies are always an exception!

7. Temper Your Expectations

We’ve said it before, it’s a challenging time. Stop worrying about being perfect. The reality where you arise at 5am for a full-body workout, spend time with the kids, make a perfect healthy breakfast, crush a productive workday, entertain, nourish, and educate your children, nurture your relationship with your partner, etc., etc., … doesn’t exist. It’s okay to do a little bit less of everything right now.

When it comes to work, understandably you don’t always have a choice to “lower your expectations,” especially if you have an employer who sets their expectations for you. However, if you can find ways to accept just a little bit less than perfection, I encourage you to try it. Maybe you work in sales and you have a quota each month that you normally exceed. It’s okay to simply hit the quota, or even miss the mark once or twice.

8. Give the Kids Something to Look Forward To

More indoor time, fewer activities, and separation from friends and family… this is the perfect recipe for boredom and restlessness when it comes to your kids.

When boredom is creeping in, the kids are more likely to (A) be fussy and (B) interrupt you while you’re trying to get work done. Without having something to look forward to, (like summer camp, family vacations, visits with friends), the boredom or anxiety of so much “at home” time will only get worse. Try to make it habit to have something each week that everyone can look forward to. Maybe it’s a picnic out in the park, or a family outing to a drive-in movie. Whatever keeps the kids excited and in somewhat of a “routine.” Then, it’s easier to say, “Hey, I need to focus during the day today so that I’m finished with work in time for our outing.”

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Over Communicate