Summer is something I have a love/hate relationship with. On one hand I love the more relaxed schedule. It isn’t chaos in the morning trying to get kids fed and out the door. I have more time in my day because I’m not sitting in the school parking lots to pick up children. However, there is a lot more, “I’m bored,” and, “I’m hungry.” Keeping kids entertained is a balance and it definitely changes as your kids grow up.
Working from home is a personal choice and I love the flexibility. If you work from home too, and struggle with the changes summer brings, I’m sharing some of my favorite tips to get through the days, and even have a little fun.
Revisit your Calendar
You probably got into a groove during the school year. Drop offs, pickups, after school activities, plus uninterrupted time during the day! Now it’s time to get real with your summer schedule and reprioritize.
1️⃣ Get real with what MUST happen.
What are the things in your work world that are not flexible? This might be things like staff meetings, client meetings, etc. What tasks have to get done each week, and roughly how much time do they take up?
Layer in the things that MUST happen in your family life. Camps you’ve registered for, sports practices, vacations etc. I love to put these things on my work calendar as busy so that I can be sure that meetings don’t get scheduled.
2️⃣ Block time on your calendar
Make sure you have enough time in your day to get the work you need to get done. This might mean getting up a little early. Or it may mean adding in a few hours on the weekend.
For me, I still get up at the same time (5:30 AM) but can get more done because my kids don’t get moving till 9 or 10 AM. I know I can have hyper-focused time so work hard to get my must do things done by then. The rest of the day I can work on the next level of priorities that I know I can be interrupted more during.
3️⃣ Plan ahead
Things are more “in the moment” in the summer. That means planning ahead can help relieve stress. That way as things change in your families schedules you don’t also feel behind with work. Especially when it comes to planned vacations. Yes, I can take my work with me but that doesn’t mean I want to.
Meal Prep
It is no surprise that you’ll hear, “I’m hungry,” all day long! Depending on the age of your kiddos there are a few things that have helped me ease this for everyone.
1️⃣ Prep snacks
On the weekends I try and clean out the pantry and put healthy, easy snacks where they can access them. My kids are older so they know one of each. If you have younger kids you could create a bucket for each kid with their allocated dry snacks for the day.
Similarly in the fridge I organize their snacks in a drawer so it’s easy for them to grab. Things are either prepackaged or portioned out to make. it easy for them to snag.
2️⃣ Plan lunches
Of course you’ll have to take a break to make lunch. If you can know what you’re making it can really help with minimizing the time you have to take to make it. It also helps with you taking the time to eat a healthy meal!
Even better – have some meals during the week they can make themselves. For example, have all the sandwich fixings where they can find it have them make their own if they’re old enough.
3️⃣ Keep a list on the fridge
Put a list of the day’s snacks and lunch on the fridge. That way your kiddos will know what is available to them. Have them check there before coming to interrupt you.
Have a nightly family prep meeting
Before everyone turns in for the night chat through the next day quickly. Make sure people know what everyone has on their plates and what the schedule entails. Set expectations for when kiddos need to be ready to go and how they can help out in the morning.
You’ll probably still have to remind people during the day but the more you practice this you’ll start to see improvement!
Find fun activities they can do at home
Creating opportunities for them to stay busy at home can also save you time. One of the platforms we love is Outschool. They have fun and unique classes for all ages from dance to coding to languages and even math and science.
There are also lots of apps you can find that help with music lessons, knitting, really anything you can think of. We also love a good subscription box that can send activities they can do at home that don’t require screen time.
Build a cohort
Find other families that you can swap kids. Plan days of the week that you can be more flexible with work and then ship off the kids on days when you have more responsibility. The kids will be busy and have fun and you’ll have more dedicated time to get things done.
Over Communicate
At the end of the day, communication is critical. There will be days when you won’t have as much patience or time and some days when you can step away more. Letting everyone in your family know what you need will go a long way in relieving stress and having a fun summer.
This also goes for those on your team. Let them know if there is a change in your communication or follow up time on emails etc. The more you communicate the less stress and frustration.
Conclusion
Summer can be a super fun time and I hope you find as much time as possible to spend making memories with your family. While working for yourself can be hyper stressful, some of these tips can help to manage that!