Are you juggling working from home with home-schooling and feeling like you’re failing at both? Let us help you find a better balance…
First Things First…
It’s a lot to deal with and there’s no sugar-coating it. However, there are ways to strike a better work/school balance and it starts with giving yourself a break. You are only one person and you simply cannot do it all. These are unprecedented times (yes, we’re sick of hearing that, too) and unprecedented times call for unprecedented measures. Accept that no-one is able to become a fully-fledged teacher overnight AND continue working their day job at the same time, nor does anyone expect this of you. It’s simply impossible. Flip it – a full-time teacher would never be expected to do your full-time job at the same time and achieve the same level of results, would they? Of course not. Once we remove the unrealistic expectations we often place on ourselves, we can look at the situation more reasonably and, in doing so, drastically reduce our levels of anxiety.
You And Your Work
It’s likely that although your working environment has changed, your workload probably hasn’t. In fact, many of us have found ourselves with more pressures in our job than ever before, thanks to the pandemic. Hopefully, you have a sympathetic and fair boss who realises and respects just how hard you and your team are working. She or he may also have children at home and understand completely just how challenging these times are. Your co-workers could be experiencing similar situations, too, so the old adage really does ring true – we are all in this together.
Thankfully, it’s this fact that makes the situation that much easier because your work is more likely to be accommodating and supportive while you juggle your day-to-day work responsibilities with home-schooling. Be honest with your boss about your situation and don’t be afraid to ask about flexibility to ease the pressure. It may be that you need to make changes to fit around home-schooling and childcare responsibilities, or you may even need to be furloughed for a period of time. You can work with your boss to find a solution to suit you both. If you need additional help and support about your rights, talk to your local Citizens Advice centre or check out the website here: https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/
Let’s Look At Home-schooling…
It might take you all a few days or even weeks to find a routine that works for you as a family, but you’ll get there in the end. Try not to put too much pressure on yourself, or your kids. After all, this is a completely upside-down situation for everyone involved and your child/ren are likely to feel as lost and anxious as you.
Read our guide on How To Make Home-Schooling A Success here for helpful tips and advice on how to get the most from home-schooling. The key to this is to do what works best for you and don’t compare yourself to others, especially those who seem to have this totally sussed and post photos of their beaming children doing all sorts of educational home activities 24/7. You can guarantee that each and every one of us has had at least one bad day of home-schooling. Remind yourself that you are only seeing one side of the coin – after all, people usually only post the positive stuff on social media. We’re all muddling through as best as we can.
Think Positive
Give yourself – and your children – plenty of credit throughout this journey. Remind yourself of the following every day:
- Stop with the guilt. Popping your kid in front of BBC Bitesize for half an hour so you can jump on a meeting is perfectly fine.
- You all deserve regular breaks to snuggle, relax and just enjoy being with one another. It’s especially important right now to make your children feel safe and loved so taking some time out to cuddle up with a movie is just as crucial to their wellbeing as teaching them multiplication.
- Don’t worry if you divert from your schedule or timetable, or if you just don’t have time to do schoolwork some days. You can always try again tomorrow.
- Remember that your child will learn a lot from just a few hours’ work – they don’t have to do the same number of hours they would at school. Plus, they have their teacher (you) all to themselves and don’t have to share attention or time with classmates meaning the work is more streamlined and completed quicker.
- You are doing an amazing job.
