Dealing With Distractions: Your Children

Children are one of the biggest distractions when you work from home. Many people think that when they work from home, they will save money on babysitters. Unfortunately, this just means that you are going to be working around your children's schedule.

Here are some tips to help you work from home with children. 

When children are young, you can work during their naps. Many parents also get up before their children so that they can get some focused work done. Others work better in the evenings, so they wait until their children are asleep at night. Naps are always a great time to focus on your work if you are lucky enough to have children who take one or two naps during the day. 

Older children are better. They are in school during the day, which gives you plenty of uninterrupted time for your business. Many older children also know boundaries. They can respect a closed door when you are making phone calls.

Many business owners have their children help out. Older children can help with your paperwork, organize your office, and more. Some parents even allow their children to help with marketing, web design, and other specialized tasks that their children may be good at. It can even be a great experience to help your children start his or her own business when they are ready. 

Younger children can also "work" with their parents. They can have their own computers to play on. Many people allow them to stuff envelopes, put stamps on envelopes, and do other simple tasks. If you give children some paper, pens, and staples, they might be able to pretend to work with you.

It also helps to distract your children when you are trying to get work done. Depending on their age, you should be able to find things that they can do quietly while you work. Many business owners save toys that are used only when mom or dad is working. They may keep puzzles and other "special toys" that their children look forward to playing with. Television and video games can be helpful, but it is best if this is not used too often.

If your children play outside quite a bit, you may want to invest in a laptop, so you can work where they play. This might ramp up your productivity so much that the laptop will pay for itself rather quickly.

It also helps to teach your children to be independent. Have drinks and snacks readily available so that you don't have to get up every few minutes to get them things. Older children can make their lunch (and yours). Teaching independence can be a very freeing thing, especially for a busy business owner with limited time. 

Though it is hard, you can work around your children. Many moms (and dads) work when their children are sleeping, in the morning, at night, and during naps. They also use school to their advantage. 

Depending on the age of your children, you may also be able to let them help (or at least pretend to). Older kids can help with computer things and filling, while you may just give your younger children a piece of paper and pen to occupy him or her. The best thing that I ever did for my business was to invest in a laptop. I took it to the park, outside by the swing set, and even to the pond! You should also teach your children to be independent. If you have snacks and drinks available, they won't always have to bug you when they need something.

Previously published on Medium.