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Working From Home - It's Child's Play

With the advancement of technology over recent years, a lot of small business owners have chosen to work from home. No boss, no travel to and from work, more time with the kids. And just when you think you've got it all worked out... school holidays begin. It can be challenging finding that balance between work and family.

There are however a number of things you can do to help make this an enjoyable time for the entire family. Here are some tips that may help:

1. Discuss what this means with your children, including why you may be unavailable to them from time to time and what this will mean to them, for example child-care or having to be quiet at certain times.

2. Set some rules so everybody is clear on what is expected, including:

- Don't let children answer the business phone. If you have only one telephone line, teach them not to use it during business hours. In some cases where the children are older, teach them to answer the telephone correctly and to take messages. They should always answer using your business name, if you have one. Make sure there is always a working pen and paper or message pad near the telephone.
- Let them know when they can approach you - for example not when you are on the telephone.
- Let them know what areas are out of bounds and what items they can or cannot touch.
- Explain that they need to be quiet when you are on the telephone or have clients in.
- Be consistent; stick to the rules.

3. Find ways to occupy the children while you work but try to involve your children in your business wherever possible. Younger children will enjoy helping you, even if it is only by attaching stamps to envelopes or helping you to unpack stock. You do not need to wait until your children are older to help in your office. You can set up a mini desk in or near your workspace. Make sure you also provide coloured pencils and paper, an assortment of other stationery items, a calculator and a toy telephone. This will keep children happy for hours and you can work while still involved with their activities. When you need to run errands make sure you go when your children are not tired or hungry. Depending on the type of work you do, you may be able to take them with you to deliver products or run errands.

4. Plan for the holidays in advance as much as possible. It may be a good idea to only schedule appointments and meetings that absolutely cannot wait until after the holidays. If possible, arrange to take some time off yourself. Try to avoid any major tasks with deadlines for the holiday period.

5. Where possible, arrange some child care with other parents or relatives. For example, perhaps you can look after a friend's children one or two days each week and devote that time to doing fun things with all the children. Then your children can spend a day or two with that friend who will devote time to them, leaving you free to focus on work.

6. Alternate days where you are home and working in between playing and entertaining the kids, allowing them to watch videos for a while if it keeps them occupied, with days where you go out and focus on having fun - a day at the movies, park, beach or museum for example.

With a little organisation - okay, a lot of organisation! - and patience, it is possible to survive the school holidays while working from home.

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