The ability to work remotely can provide a number of great opportunities for almost anyone, but it can be particularly beneficial for single parents. For one thing, working remotely gives employees a far greater ability to schedule their work around the demands of their personal life. Being a single parent is just challenging, however, and while working remotely can help minimize a few of those challenges, it won’t eliminate all of them. Here are 7 things you should know about remote work and single parenting.
1. Create good boundaries and respect them
When you go off to an office, it is easy for children to understand you are at work and therefore unavailable. It can also make it easier for you to create delineation between work time and personal time. One key to creating good boundaries is rigidly disciplined scheduling.
It is perhaps even more important as a remote worker to schedule work time and personal time and stick with it religiously. If you want your kids to respect the time you need for work, you need to respect the time you agree to spend with them. Consider that time sacrosanct and make sure and cut yourself off from work communication during that time.
2. Make time for yourself
Just finding time for work and family is already hard enough, but you also need to carve out time for yourself. Remember that you are still a growing human being just like your kids are, which means you need time for personal growth.
Whether that means leisure time to distress and engage in your favorite hobby, learning a new skill or staying active or physically fit, it’s important to make sure your own needs are met as well as those of your business and family.
3. Manage stress
Working remotely actually offers far more opportunities to manage stress better than working in an office – if you choose to take advantage of it. An office can be like a fishbowl with everyone watching everyone else like a hawk. No matter how many studies that show taking regular breaks can significantly increase productivity, it seems very few offices really create a break-taking culture.
You, however, as an office of one can create your own culture. Keep some exercise equipment in your office and do a few minutes of micro-exercise every hour or so or keep a yoga mat in the corner to run through some poses every once in a while. Not only will you be more productive, but short sessions of exercise can also help you better manage your stress levels.
4. Develop a good support network
There is an enormous amount of truth to the idea that it takes a village to raise a child. If at all possible, consider hiring a nanny to help out even when you are at home. If you don’t have the means to hire a nanny, reach out to friends, family and neighbors to see if you an trade “kid-duty” hours with someone or even offer whatever services you have to offer in exchange for occasional child care. Most women – whether single moms or not – have some kind of support network, but they are not always welcoming to men. As a single dad, its important for you to build your own network of friends, family and individuals you can rely on in an emergency.
5. Work household tasks into your day
One great thing about working from home is you can actually do household tasks while you are doing other things. Put in a load of laundry just before a conference call and switch it to the dryer when you are done. If you don’t need to participate in a conference call, but just need to be on the line to be kept in the loop, put the call on mute and do some dishes. You can take a short break between tasks to take out the trash or bring the bins in or crank some music and do some quick mopping or vacuuming.
6. Maintain your social life
As a single parent, it can be easy to get overwhelmed with just work and caring for kids. Even married couples find it hard to squeeze in time for themselves, but they also recognize how important it is. You need adult company, conversations and communication that aren’t centered around business. While you may not make it out every week, try and get out at least every other week even if it’s just for a quick drink or happy hour.
7. Be present
Working remotely automatically adds in up to 2 hours in your day that you don’t have to commute. While you may not be able to spend that extra 2 hours every day with your kids, working remotely gives you the opportunity to check in with them more frequently and be a more active part of their lives. Kids need dads as well as moms, so do what you can to be present in their lives on a more regular basis, even if it’s only for a few minutes.
Just remember, you will never have enough time to do it all, so just do the best you can and cut yourself a lot of slack. No kid is ever going to turn out perfect, but it does turn out single dads are capable of raising kids every bit as effectively as single moms.
Jasmine Williams covers the good and the bad of today’s business and marketing. When she’s not being all serious and busy, she’s usually hunched over a book or dancing in the kitchen, trying hard to maintain rhythm, and delivering some fine cooking (her family says so). Tweet her @JazzyWilliams88
