Work From Home Parent? The Whiteboard is Your Friend
I've been a mum for 32 years and have been helping out with nieces, nephews and now grandchildren for most of that. I've been lucky enough to often have the opportunity to work from home both in my employed and now my self-employed work, so I have plenty of experience with the juggle of the school holidays.
Let's be honest - I've failed many times and ended up overwhelmed and with kids glued to screens and munching on junk food.
Please, believe me, the screens and junk food are FINE if that's what it takes to get by. Honestly.
But I want to share one of my favourite hacks and if you're more consistent than me you can adapt it for weeks. Personally, I use lots of tools and strategies to manage my time in my work and home life, and I need to swap them out regularly to keep my own interest. But even a week of planning is better than none, so let me share it!
If you work from home you may have a whiteboard around and if not, I highly recommend getting one.
School-aged kids are used to sitting around a whiteboard and although their school or nursery may have an all-singing all-dancing interactive screen of glory, they love to grab a marker and scribble on a clean white space! So a whiteboard is a handy tool for collaborative planning and maybe keeping demands down to a minimum.
First, make sure you include everyone in the home, including people who work outside of the home or if more than one person is working from home.
If you work from home that doesn’t mean you’re the “default parent” 24/7, OK?
Here are a few ideas for using a whiteboard to help you with the juggling
1. The Bored (board) List: Head up the list with “(Insert Name Here) is working, here’s what to do if you are bored”. Then they pick something off the list. You can get them to help write the list themselves, or surprise them with a list of chores!
2. The Hungry List: as above but for healthy (or unhealthy – your choice) help-yourself snacks and drinks.
3. Activity Planner: Grab a whiteboard and create a schedule for the kids' chores, activities, and your work time during the school hols. Assign specific tasks or activities to each family member and block off chunks of time for your work and their play. This way, everyone's on the same page, and you can visually see how your work and the kids' shenanigans fit together.
4. Teamwork Makes the Dream Work: Get the kids involved in a collaborative project that combines their interests. Plan and organise it on the whiteboard with them taking turns to write on the board. You can even get a mind map on the board to decide what the project will be and take a vote.
5. Countdown Chart: Spice up the school holidays with a nifty countdown chart on the whiteboard. Use it to mark important events, like playdates or a family outing. Watching the numbers disappear each day adds a bit of excitement and helps the kids understand how long they have until things happen. Managing expectations is half the job!
6. Task Delegation: Break down big tasks or projects into bite-sized chunks and scribble them on the whiteboard. Ask each family member to choose/assign specific tasks to themselves and use the board to track their progress. This way, the kids can take charge of their responsibilities and feel a sense of accomplishment as they see their tasks getting ticked off.
7. Daily Goal-setting: Kick off each day with a quick family stand-up around the whiteboard. Get everyone involved, including yourself, and share your goals for the day. It could be work stuff, personal targets, fun activities or even screen time. Scribble them down on the whiteboard, and as each goal gets smashed, give it a satisfying tick. This approach helps everyone stay focused, motivated, and accountable.
The key is to involve everyone as part of a team and make it a collaborative experience. By including everyone in the planning process, you can strike a balance between work and quality time with your family during the school holidays.
Please remember – this is a goal, not a rule! It will at some (or many) points all descend into madness. In which case, do whatever you have to do to get by and NO GUILT!
Love, Mo
P.S. I'm going to share a couple of whiteboard links so you can shop easily. You can, of course, source your own, but if enough people use my links I will get a few pennies back to help pay for the website and bring forward more helpful stuff.
A Gorgeous Glass Gizmo - The Notera Wedge this one is a combined desk organiser, GLASS whiteboard and all round treat for your office space. Not so handy for the above plans but grown-up gorgeousness.
A Budget Wall-Mounted Board This one is a decent size for home or home-office at under £22.
