Here's How Our Working Parents Stay Focused While Social Distancing

From the US to Germany, thousands of schools and daycares around the world have closed to curb the spread of COVID-19. As a result, parents and guardians working from home (WFH) are doing their best to juggle emails, daily work tasks, and conference calls while caring for their children.

{{divider}}

We’ve already shared our internal WFH office playbook that was written especially for this situation, and now we’d like to share a few practices and tips from the working parents on our team.

While many parents or guardians have experienced WFH when their child has had a sick day or a snow day, working under quarantine or with limited access to public spaces is unchartered territory for many. Playdates and playgrounds are no longer options for some, as families practice social distancing.

To manage expectations, we recommend that parents should inform their teams that they have kids at home, and express that they'll need flexibility for their schedule, such as:

• setting time blocks for meetings
• having shorter meetings
• breaks between meetings
• mentioning times when they are more free, e.g. during nap and homework time

Safety for our employees and the community is priority number one when supporting our working parents. The best source of advice of course comes from the parents themselves who are learning everyday on how to manage the current situation. A few of our GetYourGuide parents have taken the time to share their stories and best practices with you:

1. Give kids a sense of control: Set a schedule, but let them choose activities.

“To maintain structure and stability in the day, I involve my kid in planning. My daughter, Lily, struggles with uncertainty and change, as all kids do. Together, we typically forecast the upcoming week so we can discuss the days that mom will be very busy in meetings and which days we will have a lot more time together.

Having her choose what we do in our time slot makes her feel like she is in charge of the day. She is not just waiting around on me. This sense of control can help with some emotions our kids feel right now, being pulled out of their normal routine.

Plan the night before
I check my calendar the evening before with her and plan in more detail. I let her pick activities she can do mostly on her own for during the times I’m in meetings, and we set up blocks for us to do things together during times that I’m not in meetings.

Make your time together official
Having her choose what we do in our time slot makes her feel like she is in charge of the day. She is not just waiting around on me. This sense of control can help with some emotions our kids feel right now, being pulled out of their normal routine. It even helps to put in calendar blocks for our time. This way, the time feels official — like her kindergarten schedule was — and the next day, she knows that when the time hits, I have to log off for a break.

Choose screen time wisely
Knowing that screen time may be unavoidable, I look for the right types of screen time. It’s been tricky not just to let my kid sit in front of a screen all day to allow me to get my work done. Instead, I’ve worked to find useful resources that help keep her engaged but in a more independent way. ABCMouse has been a great resource. It’s an educational tool with activities that she can work through on her own.”

Natascha Nihsen, technical recruiter

2. Ask the kids what they do at daycare, and try to replicate some activities

You know your kids best, try to recreate activities they did outside, at school, or at daycare. We try to do kids exercise videos from Youtube or watch German language lessons. This definitely requires more time from us parents than usual. We try as much as possible to take turns. Also, don’t forget to take time away for yourself. Take mental breaks. Acknowledge that you need to stay  strong for this marathon.

Mahmoud Tantawy, backend engineer

3. Use naps to their fullest advantage

“Until we find a more permanent solution with a babysitter, my wife and I adjust our work hours to our son's sleep schedule. This means we get up before him, work when he goes to bed, and use all of his naps in between to focus. We also split his waking hours into shifts and take turns watching after him.

Also, don’t forget to take time away for yourself. Take mental breaks. Acknowledge that you need to stay  strong for this marathon.

I've found that things like answering emails can actually be done when he's sitting on my lap. He even likes to help by pushing the CTRL key ten times until he gets bored. Working with kids requires rigorous time planning and communication between partners to make it work.”

Stefan Scheuffelen, director of Talent Acquisition

4. Schedule meetings and the babysitter in the same block

“With the kindergartens closed, we came up with a new organization at home to ensure that we can continue working. My household and my team know that this is my tentative weekday schedule:

• 9:30–12:30 p.m. work
• 12:30–2 p.m. break
• 2–7 p.m. work

I base these times on my daughter's sleeping and eating schedule, so they are subject to change. I also don't take Wednesday afternoons off, as I usually do, so I can spread the work hours throughout the week. If you are fortunate enough to afford a babysitter, I would recommend aligning your babysitter’s schedule to your meeting schedule. Our sitter comes in the mornings, so we’re able to fully concentrate on our calls.”

Betty Lepere, localization team lead

5. Alone time can charge you for the next day

My wife and I find it essential to block off a few minutes of alone time at the end of a long day, even when we’re exhausted. It's tempting after the baby is asleep and dishes are done, to open our laptops and start checking emails, but we've decided to stop doing that unless a project is urgent.

We check in with each other, which is important. But it’s also important to check-in with ourselves.

Tune out
She usually goes for a short run after work. I often read or watch a few minutes of something. Sometimes I pour a glass of red wine. Either way, we try to take a few minutes, even if we only have a few, to gather our thoughts.

I’m fortunate enough to be living with my in-laws at this time, so the support is great, but as a result, space is limited. Alone time is necessary when you have six people living on top of each other in a small house.  I also use this time to tune out the news, work, and chores.

Reduce stress
We check in with each other, which is important. But it’s also important to check-in with ourselves. A little alone time can rebalance you, reduce stress, and improve focus for the next day.

Andy Hunter, national account manager (pictured with his family)

Helpful resources from our #parents Slack channel

We have an internal channel to share advice and check in with each other. We’ve pulled some helpful and interesting links to share with you.

• Online coloring books for children from a German artist
• Berlin’s basketball club (Alba) publishes daily sport lessons for children in German
• How to get more work done in a day than most people do in a week.
• Teach your kids how to draw with lunch doodles
• A list of free subscriptions to education companies
• How long does coronavirus last on surfaces?

‍