In this Episode, Angela discusses how to set boundaries of time and space with the family. Click below to listen to Episode 22: Working at Home with Family and Establishing a Flow!
Patti discusses establishing a work schedule to help you get into a flow and get things done; working from home can be challenging, especially when the family doesn’t understand your work demands, obligations, or time constraints with deadlines.
Patti: Established set work hours and communicated them to family and friends. Here are the hours and days I am working this week. Another way to communicate is to post your calendar/diary on the wall/door or give family access to your digital schedule that reflects availability. Another approach is to post a daily or weekly calendar in view (maybe in the kitchen) or text your unavailability for that day to the whole family. There are many creative ways to communicate that you are working and unavailable. Sit down as a family and ask them how they want you to let them know. This way, everyone is part of the decision-making. Do you want a daily text or a do-not-disturb sign on the door?
Angela said, I found the sign official, making it straightforward for others not to knock. In the building I used to live in, we had a lot of traffic going past my front door. People who delivered parcels would knock on the front door, which would be picked up on my calls or recordings. However, the worst thing about knocking on the front door was when I was doing meditation. Sounds and knocks during meditation can be dangerous to your body if you are in deep meditation, and give you a heart attack. That forced me to make a sign to post on my front door, “Please don’t knock. Meditation is in progress; if possible, leave parcels.” The sign also allowed some people in the building to be quiet when passing the front door too (if they read it!) I will use another sign on the door in my office at home to be clear about meditation time or when I’m recording, as people may have no idea what you are doing in the office, and the sign makes people more aware of the noise.
Angela: When working at home with family these days, looking at your physical workspace is really valuable. Do you have a space that’s appropriate for doing your work? Do your kids have a space that’s appropriate to focus on learning? And space is not just physical like a desk; it includes sound and light. I’ve seen many people being creative with working at the kitchen bench, buying a fold-away desk for the bedroom, and other bits of furniture like a screen or divider to section off spaces in the house or to create workspaces.
Sometimes, you won’t be able to have a quiet workspace, and people are more forgiving in these times if they hear kids and the kitchen in the background, but how does this affect you?
Are there changes you need to make without necessarily spending much money, but perhaps using your house differently?
What could be something that naturally gives you the flow you need to put in your schedule to help you with the changes we are now facing?
For Angela, it’s definitely movement. In the coming months, I will share some of the results of my movement classes, which I plan to share so that more people can discover their own natural rhythm.
You can stay in touch with Angela’s gentle movement classes by signing up for the newsletter.
For more work-life balance strategies from Patti, go to www.CoachingforInspirationwithPatti.com
We will post this question below in our Building Better Relationships at Home and Work Facebook group regarding this episode.
We would love to see your answer to the question.
Here is a short audio clip of Episode 22
Thank you for listening and sharing. 🙂
