Working remotely offers a lot of flexibility to your day-to-day schedule—but what if you’re working from home with a baby? Finding a healthy balance between your role as a parent and an employee may seem challenging at first, but it’s not nearly as tough as it looks. We’ve put together plenty of tips and suggestions to help you stay productive and focused throughout the day, so you can get the most out of your remote work schedule.

This article is based on an interview with our life and career coaching, Annie Lin, founder of New York Life Coaching. Check out the full interview here.

1

Plan your daily and weekly schedule ahead of time.

  1. Your day-to-day schedule will seem much less overwhelming if you plan it out. Decide when you want to start your work day and how you’d like to chunk your schedule between parenting and working. Knowing what you’ll be doing and when can offer you lots of peace of mind.[1] You could plan your schedule something like this:
    • Early Morning: Complete your most pressing work tasks while your baby or toddler is still fast asleep.
    • Breakfast: Grab a healthy breakfast for yourself and make a healthy breakfast for your child.
    • Morning: Divide your time between playing with your child and getting some work done.
    • Lunch: Eat some lunch yourself and prepare some lunch for your little one.
    • Afternoon: Split your time between work and play. Check a few more things off your to-do list if your baby or toddler is taking a nap.
    • Evening: Finish up a few more work-related tasks after your kids go to bed. Then, take some time to relax and decompress yourself.
  2. Advertisement
2

Shift your work schedule to earlier or later in the day.

  1. Your kids are probably less active in the early morning or late evening. As a parent, you don’t have the luxury of working a set, consistent schedule—instead, you have to work around your kids. With this in mind, thinking about clocking in some time during the very early or very late hours of the day, when your kids won’t be as active.[2]
    • If your baby or toddler is usually up at 7 AM, set your alarm for 5 AM instead. If you typically put your child to bed at 8 PM, extend your work hours from 8:30 to 10 PM.
    • Double-check with your boss or supervisor to make sure that they’re okay with you working more sporadic hours.
5

Make a separate workspace for yourself.

  1. A unique workspace helps you have a clearer work/life balance. Set up a table or desk that’s dedicated completely to your work-related tasks. It’ll be harder to focus if you’re working on the couch, at the dinner table, or at another place where you usually rest and relax.[6]
    • Choose a place where you won’t be distracted by surroundings. For example, you might get sidetracked by dirty dishes and other household chores if you work in the kitchen or breakfast room.
    • Take your workspace to the next level by installing a site blocker on your computer. Applications like Cold Turkey, BlockSite, LeechBlock NG, or Freedom are all good places to start.[7]
    • Try to stay off social media sites while you’re working from home. Having a young child around is distracting enough as it is!
  2. Advertisement
6

Create a safe play area for your child.

  1. Playtime can be a great distraction for kids while you’re hard at work. Take precautions by covering up any electrical outlets with safety covers, cutting any window blind cords short, and rearranging your furniture so it’s not directly next to the window. Then, fill the area with entertaining toys that are appropriate for your child’s age group. For extra security, you can also:[8]
    • Arrange your TV on a low, stable piece of furniture or install it on the wall
    • Place corner and edge guards on your furniture
    • Mount any potentially unsteady furniture to the wall
7

Multi-task while pumping breast milk.

  1. A hands-free pump gives you the flexibility to get some work done. There’s nothing wrong with taking a break to pump your breast milk, but a hands-free pump can offer a little more versatility to your workday. Try combining your pumping with a low-key task, like checking email, and seeing how it goes.[9]
    • If you feel comfortable enough, you can pump during a video or voice call with the camera angled away and your microphone muted (or turned way down).
    • You can also multi-task while breastfeeding, as long as you have at least 1 hand free.
  2. Advertisement
9

Take advantage of mobile and cloud technology.

11

Communicate regularly with your workplace.

  1. Being a working parent can be unpredictable, so be sure to check in regularly. Newborns, babies, and toddlers definitely don’t operate on a set schedule, so you probably won’t be clocking in a normal workday when you’re at home with a young child. Let your workplace know what’s going on, and make sure they’re on board with your new schedule.[14]
    • You might ask to be excused from a long video call, or request to start your shift really early in the morning.
    • Working remotely requires really excellent communication from both the employee and the manager.
    • Be mindful when you schedule meetings so you can maximize your time. With remote work, you can make every minute of your work schedule count.
  2. Advertisement
13

Switch off caretaking duties with your partner.

  1. This gives you several productive chunks of time throughout the day. Teamwork is the name of the game, especially if you and your partner live together. See if your partner is willing to keep an eye on the baby while you spend some time focusing on work. If your partner also works full-time, you can switch off your duties throughout the day.[16]
    • Organize your routine based on each other’s work schedules. For instance, if your partner has Tuesdays off, they could spend more of Tuesday watching the baby.
    • Network with your neighbors, too! If your neighbors have young children, you try striking up an arrangement where you each watch one another’s kids.
  2. Advertisement
14

Lean on your family and friends.

Expert Q&A

  • Question
    How can I collaborate while working from home?
    Shannon O'Brien, MA, EdM
    Shannon O'Brien, MA, EdM
    Life & Career Coach
    Shannon O'Brien is the Founder and Principal Advisor of Whole U. (a career and life strategy consultancy based in Boston, MA). Through advising, workshops and e-learning Whole U. empowers people to pursue their life's work and live a balanced, purposeful life. Shannon has been ranked as the #1 Career Coach and #1 Life Coach in Boston, MA by Yelp reviewers. She has been featured on Boston.com, Boldfacers, and the UR Business Network. She received a Master's of Technology, Innovation, & Education from Harvard University.
    Shannon O'Brien, MA, EdM
    Life & Career Coach
    Expert Answer
    You can use software like Zoom, Google Meet, or Microsoft Teams to interact over video call. You can also cocreate documents with your coworkers on Google Drive, which is super convenient. When you're unavailable, your coworkers can text you so you can get back to them when you can.
Advertisement

Warnings

  • Always child-proof any space where a baby, toddler, or young child might be playing.
    ⧼thumbs_response⧽
Advertisement

About This Article

Annie Lin, MBA
Written by:
Life & Career Coach
This article was written by Annie Lin, MBA and by wikiHow staff writer, Janice Tieperman. Annie Lin is the founder of New York Life Coaching, a life and career coaching service based in Manhattan. Her holistic approach, combining elements from both Eastern and Western wisdom traditions, has made her a highly sought-after personal coach. Annie’s work has been featured in Elle Magazine, NBC News, New York Magazine, and BBC World News. She holds an MBA degree from Oxford Brookes University. Annie is also the founder of the New York Life Coaching Institute which offers a comprehensive life coach certification program. Learn more: https://newyorklifecoaching.com This article has been viewed 9,409 times.
6 votes - 60%
Co-authors: 7
Updated: May 28, 2022
Views: 9,409
Categories: Working from Home
Advertisement