Juggling working from home with childcare during the summer ...

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According to a recent survey of 2,000 mums, four in ten mums are not looking forward to the school summer holidays, because of difficulties juggling work, childcare and having to entertain their kids for six weeks.

Catriona?Marshall, CEO of Hobbycraft, which commissioned the research, said: ?For most children, the summer holidays are the best part of the year, six weeks without school or homework.

?For parents, grandparents and childminders? it can be a challenge to keep them occupied, especially in rainy weather.

?School summer holidays prove to be a re-occurring issue for working mums.

?Not only does it mean they have to find six weeks? worth of childcare or take time off work, but they also have to find various ways to keep their children happy and entertained for the entire break.?

According to the survey, mums worry about the months of July and August in particular because they have to rely on friends and family to look after their children and face packed local attractions on days out.

Being able to have the summer holidays (not to mention other term breaks) with my children was one of the main reasons why I became self-employed, so I can?in part sympathise with the mums in the survey.

I remember?only too well that?as an employee, it was a real challenge juggling time off between myself, my husband and our respective employers, then roping in enough help from friends and family as well as trying to?keep the kids occupied the whole time. It all needed precision planning of the highest degree!

Granted, becoming self-employed has meant a?cut in salary, but it has proven to be sacrifice worth making. I can honestly say that I love spending the summer holidays?with the kids.

I still need to juggle Freelance work with entertaining them, so in common with many other self-employed/Freelance mums, I had to sit them down and lay down my expectations. In our household, we?ve had an alternate ?day on/day off? principle, with ?day on? meaning ?mum is working ? strictly no interruptions!? and to be fair on them, ?day off? meaning ?mum takes the kids out and is strictly prohibited from turning on the PC.?

But otherwise, I?m not ashamed to admit that (a) I need help (?HELP, COME TAKE THE KIDS!!?) and?(b) need time off for some well deserved ME time.

My children are three, seven and eleven and as we won?t be going away this summer, I need to plan a range of activities to keep them all happy.??To keep things fairly flexible, we?ve been planning?activities a few days ahead of time, or sometimes the night before.

Two weeks in and so far it has been tremendous fun in spite of the dodgy weather. Even my alternate work days?seem more focused than they usually are!

So my top tips for successful home working during the summer holidays would probably be:

1.? Lay down your expectations.?If you are?starting a new business, your workload may well be a??self-imposed? one.? Sometimes this is harder to manage than when you have actual?client expectations, as your friends/family may not understand that you have certain goals that you want to achieve.? Alternatively, if you are a Freelancer, you may well have a client workload to manage, which is no mean feat during the summer holidays.?Your client?s work doesn?t suddenly stand still just because you have little kiddies to entertain.? In either case, have a frank, open discussion with your family members and let them know from the outset what it is you need to, or would like to achieve with their help.

Sometimes we assume that our family implicitly understands what it is we need to get done during the course of our working day.? I have lost count? the?times my husband has exclaimed??Are you still updating the website then?? How long does it take for goodness sake!?? So I find that it is?useful if I explain exactly what I am doing and how long it is likely to take.

2.? Plan Ahead but be flexible:

I have a range of activities planned that I know the kids will enjoy, but otherwise, I have deliberately kept things flexible this year.? We?ve been loving the BBC?s Things To Do, activities run by the BBC and partners.???If you plan on staying in situ this year, check it out for lots of ideas in your locality ? simply enter in your postcode.

We also love the National Trust?s ?50 Things to do before you?re 11 3/4??.? It?s free and a great motivator to get kids outdoors, even if just in your own garden looking for bugs.? They can collect rewards and even a ?secret rewards? for the best explorers.

Why not plan ahead for work and play by?drawing up a schedule of activities, which includes ?Mum?s Work Days?, and put the schedule?somewhere fairly prominent.? Do this together as a family, so that the process of planning is fun as well as practical.? In my household, I find it is easier to get buy?in?from everyone if they know exactly what to expect and if they have all been involved in the?decision-makingprogress.? If there are any occasional arguments about what we?re doing next/tomorrow or even why I?m STILL?on the PC, I simply point to the schedule and say ?We agreed!? Remember?!?

3.? Turn a blind eye to (some) of the housework

I realise that for some people, ignoring the housework is tantamount to sacrilege.? But really, how important is it if the dishes are left in the sink overnight, or if the ironing has piled up by the end of the week?? How would you like to be remembered by friends and family long after?you?ve ?gone??? ?Her house was always spanking clean??

Share the workload.? Children as young as three (I should know!) can share with tidying up.??Let?older children wash the dishes ? just turn a blind eye to the sink?overflowing with soap suds and everyone can help make lunch/dinner/supper.? Oddly enough, we often find that there are fewer leftovers when the kids have helped to make dinner.

3. Put everything into perspective

When I start to feel the stress levels rise a little because ?I?ve not managed to get ANY work done at all, for the WHOLE day?, I remember that this is the flexibility I craved when I worked as an employee.? Playtime with the kids comes first!

What about you?? How are you coping and what are your tips for successful summertime work as a self-employed mum?

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Last updated by Mary Cummings.

Tagged Holidays, summertime, working from home

Source: http://www.workyourway.co.uk/juggling-working-from-home-with-childcare-during-the-summer-holidays/

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