The balancing act of working and parenting through a pandemic

By Heather Osler-Beard

Heather Osler-Beard offers three tips to get through your day and your to-do list while pandemic parenting.

I’m working at my dining room table. My seven-year-old is sitting next to me, semi-engaged in her online class’s discussion of the order of the days of the month. My four-year-old is dancing in the next room as her class attempts virtual Phys Ed. Both refuse to wear headphones. This open-concept office space is not working, and I’m pretty sure balance isn’t really a thing.

For now, I’ll take this as a win: A 10-minute stretch where both kids are logged into their classes, not needing help un-muting so I can answer an email. Schools will reopen and things will look different, but the idea of balance – at least as a static attainable goal – will still feel out of reach. One helpful way to look at it, especially for parents of young kids, is as a moving target – especially with the ever-evolving pandemic making us question every sniffle. Some days, you’ll get there. Other days, not so much. And every day is different.

So, as a busy communicator, with a family and a finite amount of time each day, what to do? Some things that work for me (most days):

1. Be realistic with your time. How many times have I stared at my to-do list at the end of a day, only to check off one thing? It’s deflating, and more often than not, “wish list” would be a better description. For me, it comes down to being really aware of how much time I actually have to get a solid block of focused work done – it’s always less than I’d like. Knowing this, I can set myself up with a plan to use this time for the things on my list that need deeper focus.

2. Protect your time. With a good idea of the time, you actually have, to do everything you can to protect it. Block your calendar. Sign out of MS Teams. Silence your email notifications. Whatever works. This is your time to move something bigger off your list. Leave the smaller tasks – like answering emails, organizing files and quick edits – for between meetings (or fetching snacks, cleaning up Play-Doh, setting up a craft, finding a specific Paw Patrol episode, etc.).

3. Let it go. And I don’t mean playing Frozen on repeat (also a viable strategy). This is probably the most important thing for me. Balance can be just as much about getting work done in the midst of busy family life as it is about letting go of what can’t be done – and being okay with that. Tomorrow is a new day, work will still be there, and most of the time, that email can wait. In fact, you’ll probably produce better work with fresh eyes. There will always be days where this isn’t possible and you just have to plow through, but striving to make these the exception, not the rule, is so important.

Of course, your workplace culture and the team will play a huge role – especially now. I’ve been lucky throughout the pandemic to work with understanding leaders and colleagues, many of whom are in the same boat and lead by example. I think the more we normalize that work and life need to coexist, the better. It’s not so much about finding and staying in balance but acknowledging that it’s okay to be on top of that big deliverable one day and under a pile of goldfish crackers the next.

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