Since the coronavirus pandemic happened, many have been working at home. Three months have already passed, and still, there are a lot who do. As a mom or dad, you have to juggle everything together at home.
There are the kids that you have to take care of, plants to water, pets to feed, house to clean, and the list goes on. But you do not have to do everything by yourself. Here are four useful tips on how to share the workload at home.
Start the conversation about sharing the workload.
Talk it out with your partner. It may be hard at first, but once you can start, ideas and thoughts will come out on their own. If you are afraid, think that the conversation will be for the best of both worlds. You may start by sharing how you feel about the coronavirus and being on lockdown for quite some time now. Then share your feelings towards how you can share the workload at home.
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Share the goals that you have in mind.
Think of an achievable goal and share it with your partner so that they would know how you want things to happen, and it will surely make everyone happy. The best thing to do is to have teamwork.
Ask for your partner's opinion.
After sharing the goals that you have in mind, ask them what they might like to add or change to your shared goals. When you ask and listen, it will make them think that you care about their opinions too. It shows that you are willing to adjust to their needs also. Pushpay Chief People Officer, Michael Erisman said that both he and his wife share workload at home because they believe that it is a dual effort.
Read also: Parenting 101: 5 Reasons Why Children Misbehave?
Open up your hopes and fears
Be open to your partner about what makes you worry and what has been challenging you. It will help that you are honest about your worries too. Your partner will understand how you feel so that he/she will be able to think of what suits you best.
Melissa Strawn shared that she was going to launch her business when the coronavirus pandemic started while her husband is working full-time. The couple has five children. Strawn suggests that you communicate openly and honestly about what is working and what is not with your partner. At times, she just needs validation from juggling her business startup and handling their five kids. For other days, she needs the help of her husband to finish some workload for her.
Experiment on what would work
There is no one size fits all in this kind of situation. Try one idea first to see if it works well to both of you, if not, try out another one until you find the best solution to help you adjust to each other's needs. It may take some time, but it will be worth the wait.
Sometimes you also need to include your kids to help you, especially when they are big enough to share their ideas. Who knows? They might have a different point of view that is new to both of you. You may also share the workload at home with your big kids. This strategy might also be useful even if the coronavirus pandemic is over.
