There are so many resources out there on remote working and working from home (WFH). Likewise, there are so many tips and so much advice on homeschooling children. I\u2019m no expert in either of those topics, but I decided to write this article to share my experience after a week of working from home and homeschooling my 7-year-old daughter, who\u2019s in third grade at the moment.<\/p>\n
I will structure this article using a popular retrospective format \u2014 the 4Ls: loved, learned, loathed, and longed for. The reason for using this 4Ls format is to highlight positives (loved and learned) as well as negatives (loathed and longed for). Because let\u2019s face it, there are always goods and bads to a situation, no matter how optimistic or pessimistic a person is.<\/p>\n
So without any further ado, my 4Ls.<\/p>\n
I get to have an hour or two of quiet time in the morning, usually from 7 a.m.-9 a.m., without having to rush to get out of the house. I use this time to really set intentions and goals for the day \u2014 for my work, my daughter\u2019s school curriculum, and our well-being.<\/p>\n
I look forward to getting out of the house as soon as my husband comes home from work (his work hasn\u2019t started WFH yet \u2014 hopefully soon). We go for a lonnnnnnng walk, which usually takes an hour to an hour and a half. Don\u2019t worry, I take social distancing seriously and keep at least 2-3 meters distance from other people. It helps me clear my head and appreciate simpler things that life has to offer, such as fresh air, a blue sky, and feeling breeze on my face.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m not snacking nonstop at my desk anymore, and I\u2019ve been cooking a bit more, which means my family is eating a bit healthier. We still have McDonalds one night and KFC the other night \u2014 so two takeouts in a week \u2014 but they\u2019re much-needed carbs!<\/p>\n
I love that I\u2019m now more connected to my daughter\u2019s learning and progress. I get to really understand what she\u2019s learning and what her school curriculum is like.<\/p>\n
Back-to-back Zoom meetings are more tiring than back-to-back in-person meetings. And even with Zoom, I\u2019m still late sometimes because it takes time to end one Zoom call and dial into the next one.<\/p>\n
Managers don\u2019t have all the answers; the best thing we can do during times like these is to listen and to empathise. Some people like to stay productive to stay sane, while some people need more personal time to process what\u2019s happening. Some people really just need to talk things out. Those managers who can adjust and be flexible enough to accommodate each person\u2019s needs are much needed now.<\/p>\n
Homeschooling is also improving my general knowledge. Who knew people should eat insects like grasshoppers, crickets, and silkworms because they\u2019re environmentally sound and contain a lot of vitamins and minerals?<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve learned to trust more \u2014 trust in others, trust in the process, and, most of all, trust in myself. For example, I was a bit skeptical about homeschooling my daughter. I was worried she\u2019d just want to watch her iPad all day. But before we started, I took a piece of well-known advice when it comes to working with children: I explained to her that I\u2019d be her teacher during the day. I\u2019d try my best to teach her, and I needed her to try her best to learn \u2014 and then she could have a few hours iPad time after school is out as a reward. It\u2019s worked well so far.<\/p>\n
I loathed meetings. I understand meetings are an essential evil for managers, but I really need to get better at managing meetings when working remotely. I\u2019m attending more Zoom meetings than I was when I was working in the office. Maybe I don\u2019t need to be in all of the meetings. But how do I show my support and provide insights if I\u2019m not present in meetings and people can\u2019t see I\u2019m still at work and I care?<\/p>\n
I constantly have to remind myself that I can give myself and my daughter a little bit of slack. It\u2019s not the end of the world if I didn\u2019t finish everything I wanted to do for the day. My daughter isn\u2019t going to fall behind her academics if she didn\u2019t put her heart and soul into one of the drawing exercises, even if she loves drawing. The most important thing is we\u2019re all alive, healthy, and safe. I know all this, but I still find it hard to accept it.<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t like not knowing what\u2019s going to come next or when we can get out of this pandemic situation. As much as I like routines, WFH and homeschooling are going to get tough if I have to keep going for months. I don\u2019t know if I can keep up with it. I hate that I\u2019m thinking about the uncertainty of the future when I should be focusing on the present.<\/p>\n
I miss my commute time. It was the time to really wind down, and and it acted as a bridge between my home and work life. I didn\u2019t think I\u2019d ever say this, but, yes, I\u2019m missing my commute time.<\/p>\n
I miss the free lunches and healthy snacks my work provided and the barista coffee from the cafe. These days, I\u2019m trying hard to make good friends with instant coffee.<\/p>\n
I wish I had limitless brainpower and energy to be creative and to do the other side hustles I want to do. I find I\u2019m so tired by 6 p.m., so I can barely do anything else. I miss my maker time.<\/p>\n
I long for intelligent conversations with colleagues and friends that\u2019s not so much about what we\u2019re working on, how we\u2019re tracking with various projects, how we\u2019re feeling, if we\u2019re healthy and safe, etc. I also miss being just a mother and knowing my daughter is learning whatever she needs to learn at school and enjoying her time at home. Now I\u2019m a mother and a teacher, responsible for both her well-being and learning.<\/p>\n