By Colleen Stewart, guest blogger

There’s no doubt about it: The pandemic changed the workplace forever. Estimates are that in 2021, about a quarter of American employees worked at home at least part of the time. It can be assumed that a moderate to a significant portion of these workers had young children at home.

Creating a balance between remote work and young children can be difficult, especially during the pandemic, but it isn’t impossible. 

Here are some suggested strategies that can help you successfully manage working at home with little ones:

Use Freelancers to Lighten Your Workload 

A freelance virtual assistant (VA) can help lighten your workload by handling small administrative tasks. For example, you could hire a VA to make phone calls, schedule appointments and handle simple emails. A VA can also format and schedule blog posts and manage some (or all) social media postings. Other duties can be assigned, depending on your industry. In the wake of the pandemic, virtual assistant jobs have been on the rise.

You can find virtual assistant services on job boards, dedicated online platforms and even (sometimes) relevant social media groups. Before hiring anyone, make sure you either read reviews or get references. You’ll also want to weigh out the costs versus how much time you’ll save. 

Consider Your Childcare Options 

Thanks to the pandemic, many parents now work from home and care for their kids by themselves, but this can be both overwhelming and a productivity killer. Consider reliable childcare options, even if they’re only part-time. For example, you could look to your support system for help. Could one of your parents or siblings sit with the children for a few hours twice a week? Could your spouse take an hour after they get home for the day? 

Another option is professional childcare or daycare. Sending your toddler to daycare even two or three days a week for a few hours could help you get a lot more work done. If finances are an issue, look into state assistance. Most states have options to pay a percentage of total childcare costs as long as the facility is eligible.

Work Smarter

Despite your best efforts, your mind can only focus on a task for so long before you begin to lose concentration. Consider using the Pomodoro technique. With this method, you work for 25 minutes and then take a five-minute break. You repeat this four times, and then allow yourself a longer break. 

While the actual method states the longer break should be 15 to 20 minutes, parents can alter this technique to fit their lifestyle. For example, you could take a 30-minute or even one-hour break to spend time with your young children. You can schedule these breaks around breakfast, lunch and nap time, or use one of these breaks to take your toddler outside to play for a short period. 

Practice Meditation 

Meditation can help you feel more in control of your life. It can also help reduce feelings of anxiety, depression and stress. Have your toddler sit and practice meditation with you for five minutes each day, and then take five or 10 minutes for yourself in the evening. Not only will you be practicing self-care, but you’ll also be teaching your toddler an excellent coping technique. 

Bio: Colleen Stewart loves giving her two kids a healthy example to live by. Her passion for community and wellness inspired her and her husband to team up with their neighbors and create a playgroup that allows the adults and their kids to squeeze in a workout a few times a week. She created Playdate Fitness to help inspire other mamas and papas to make their well-being a priority, and set a healthy foundation for their little ones in the process.