How To Stay Productive While Working Remotely With Toddlers

Imagine this: You’re just settling in for a work-from-home session when your toddler starts crying, or climbs on your lap and deletes your work, or spills something, or needs a diaper change, or… It can often feel like there’s no way you can stay productive while working remotely with toddlers in the house!

Creating a work-from-home career you love is an exciting journey, especially for moms (and dads!) who long to spend more time with their children. But the toddler years are a real challenge even without trying to add remote work to your home life. So we have some practical tips that can help you balance your work and being the parent of one or more toddlers, too.

Note: Some of these suggestions might not fit your work-from-home career or your toddler – or maybe both. This is just a place to start. Try what might work for you and use these tips as a springboard for your own ideas. If you come up with something you think could work for other parents, please let us know in the comments!

Meet Your Toddler’s Needs First

You probably don’t need me to tell you that toddlers aren’t the most patient humans in the world. My kids are in their 20s, now, and I still remember my youngest telling me, at 3, that anything they had to wait for would take “18 million years!”

It’s almost always safer to put off the work than the toddler. If you take the time to get them that snack or sippy cup, change them, cuddle them, and maybe read their favorite story or sing their favorite song, you might avoid a long string of toddler demands that start as soon as you sit down to work.

Create a Routine

Having a consistent routine can really help you manage the juggling act of remote work and childcare. If you can start your day at the same time each morning and set specific work hours, you might find it easier to keep all the balls in the air.

Try breaking your day into blocks that include time for the things your toddler needs and enjoys. This structure can help both you and your child know what to expect, and that makes it easier for you to stay on track and productive.

Of course, there might be days when your toddler wakes you up at 4:00 a.m. instead of waking up to your coffee at 7:00 — but your routine can be a lifesaver on the days they don’t!

Design a Kid-Friendly Workspace

If you’re lucky, you might have a partner or other caregiver to help manage the kids while you’re working. This might look like trading shifts with your spouse, a few hours of daycare, or a sitter to entertain your toddler so you can stay on target.

But if you’re the one doing the toddler tending while working from home, you’ll focus a lot better if you know that your child is safe,

Setting up a play station in your workspace office can give your little ones a place to be close to you. Set up things that are fun for them and let you know they’re not getting into anything that can hurt them. For my oldest, we set up a giant box from a reclining chair with blankets, stuffed animals, and a basket of books. He spent many hours playing in and around that box.

Some careers, like scoping, voiceover, or transcription, aren’t the best fit for this solution, so you’ll want to think about whether this will solve problems or add headaches.

You can also make changes in your home to keep your toddler safe even if your eyes can’t be on them every second. Childproof locks and gates can limit the space your child can roam in If your home has multiple levels, you’ll need to take measures to keep your toddler safe around the stairs.

You can also bring a mini fridge into your office that makes it simple to pass snacks to your toddlers when they get hungry!

 Nap Time Can Be “Magic Time”

If your toddler still naps, that time is golden! You can use this quiet period to focus on work-from-home projects that require deep concentration and uninterrupted attention. It can also be a great time to schedule virtual meetings or phone calls without your toddler becoming an uninvited guest.

But this magic time for productivity can become frustrating if you try to take on too much. You can become frazzled or burnt out. A good tip is to choose one thing to focus on and schedule less than you think you can fit into the time.

And sometimes, you might help yourself more by grabbing a meal, nap, or some exercise while your toddler is sleeping. Sometimes, staying productive while working remotely with toddlers means, well, not working!

 Make Technology Your Coworker

If you feel like you need a personal assistant to handle the seesaw of work and parenting, technology can be a great partner.  There are so many apps and tools designed to help keep you organized and on schedule. You can collaborate with Slack or Trello, use Zoom to stay connected with your clients or team, and put your online calendar to work planning out your day.

You can also find apps, videos, and music to entertain and educate your toddler when you need a few minutes to focus on something.:

Conclusion: You Can Stay Productive While Working Remotely With Your Toddler!

If you want to find a work-from-home balance that works for both you and your child, these tips might help. And if you need to save a few minutes anywhere you can, try our time-saving tips tested by real work-from-home moms.

Balancing parenthood and a career can be challenging, but it’s possible if you’re willing to experiment until you find what works best for your family. Are you ready to try creating a structured routine, designing a kid-friendly workspace, taking advantage of nap times, or making technology your ally? Do you have other ways of staying productive while working remotely with toddlers? Sharing them might help another mom or dad who is struggling to juggle work-from-home with young kids, too.

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