When Sick Kids and Work Collide
Over the past week, I’ve been trying to meet deadlines and care for my two sick little boys . . . while becoming increasingly sicker, myself. This is a pretty common scenario for the work at home mom, so I thought I’d address it today.
First of all, your kids come first. But what about the clients who are waiting for you to send in work? You have a few options here.
1. Outsource. I’ve been trying to do this and quite frankly, it hasn’t been going well. I’ve spent more time rewriting articles that were poorly done than I’ve saved, so it isn’t always worth it. However, if you have someone trustworthy who can take on some of your workload, pass it to them.
2. Change your sleep schedule. My kids sleep during the day when they’re sick. So I do, too. The short naps that I get aren’t really sustainable long term, but they do hold you over for those long nights when the little ones seem to get sicker than ever! This also allows you to work at night.
3. Break everything into small pieces. If you can’t focus for very long, look at the task you have, then break it into smaller tasks that can be accomplished in 5-10 min. Then work on one small task at a time.
4. Let your clients know. If you have understanding clients, you might let them know that your family is out of commission and you will do your best to get their project completed on time, but it might be a day or two late. Most clients will understand and be fine with this if it doesn’t happen on a regular basis.
5. Get some help. Have your mother come over to help wrangle sick kids for a bit, or ask your husband to watch them while you take a nap so you can be more productive that night. Whatever it takes, remember that there’s no harm in asking for a hand.
Another tip which I’ve discovered helps keep everything more organized is to simply write everything down. It’s easy when you’re trying to meet a deadline and soothe a sick child to forget things. So, write down the time and what the child’s temperature was, which medicine you gave them and any other pertinent information. This will save you so much hassle when you are trying to wrack your frazzled brain to figure out when you need to give the next dose of medicine. Trust me.
What are your tips for dealing with sick kids and work at the same time?
This is probably implied in the tips you already list, but I put everything else on hold: household stuff, cleaning, community involvement, etc. Top priority is the sick children; second is my commitment to my business. Everything else can go into a temporary holding pattern. Fortunately, my children are very rarely sick!
I’ve found myself in the same situation a lot lately. It is definitely frustrating, and a little scary when you have both clients and your family counting on you. You’ve got some good suggestions for me to keep in mind.
My kids don’t get sick too often, either, Anne, but when they do, it’s never a simple cold, we’re down for the count! This past bout had us ill (I got it, too) for two weeks! I actually have a maid who comes in to handle the household stuff, so that wasn’t an issue, but you’re right, cleaning and such takes a backseat to dealing with commitments and kids when you are spread so thin.
When this happens, its a nightmare. Outsourcing can work if you take the time to weed out the poor quality people first. Great advice in your post though.