Workplace Transferable Skill: Organization for Moms

How is your work/life balance during the quarantine? 

While you’ve been home these last few weeks, you’ve likely found yourself unexpectedly juggling things you hadn’t previously. Trust me: You are not alone! It can be difficult to figure out organization for moms that works for our busy routines. Since schools, social engagements, and pretty much every other event have been closed, your life has changed massively. For many, this means working from home, children are at home instead of school, and a whole new life to manage without any of the usual activities. Throughout this process, you may have been asking for help from your family members, soliciting feedback from them, and initiating new structures throughout your home to keep the sanity. While it’s not easy, one silver lining is that the organization for moms that you are learning now is not just for moms at home - it’s transferable to the workplace!

As you’ve gotten closer to settling in to this new norm, consider some ways the organizational skills you’re sharpening are preparing you for the workplace. As a parent, you’ve been fully in charge of making changes (some that not everyone likes), improving workflow, and making transitions easier for those involved. Not everyone has the organizational skills it takes to do this. And it’s not easy. 

Well, working mom, if transitioning an entire family’s routine and schedule during a world-wide pandemic isn’t something to boast about, nothing is. Today, start thinking about your organizational skills in terms of your own workplace skills. Take advantage of this situation by honing these skills during this crazy time.

Organization for Moms

Strangely, with the new lack of activities in your world, it can feel like there are more things to organize. That seems counterintuitive, but it is true. Before, you may have had a full day of work, daycare pickup, and dinner, and evening activities. You were in a routine that was familiar. Now, with this temporary hiatus of most of your normal routine, it’s time to adjust to these changes and sharpen those organizational skills. 

Here are some organization tips to strengthen your skills while at home, so you can transfer them to the workplace later:

Time Blocking: Block off times on your digital or paper planner for specific tasks. If you don’t use a calendar or planner, now is the time to start. Even if you print off a weekly calendar to organize your to-do list, you will benefit immensely. Convert your to-do list to a calendar. If your kids need you to help with school work, block out time for each of them to get help. Consider any schedules the schools recommend and let your children know when to expect undivided attention from you. Block off time to focus on your own work or home needs. Time blocking puts you on a schedule, which will help you complete these tasks without the stress of constantly thinking about your todo list. But don’t forget to block off time for meals and fun activities, too!

Activity Batching: If you have several of the same types of activities, consider activity batching. Activity batching allows you to group similar activities together in your schedule so that you are more focused, your work is more streamlined, and you encounter less distractions. 

Michael Hyatt, an expert on activity batching, suggests that as you are more productive when you batch activities, you will spend less time on them, which frees up more time for other activities. Take a look at your own schedule and consider similar activities that you can batch together to streamline your workflow. Batch together similar cleaning activities or work activities. And use the quarantine to improve your activity batching now; in the workplace, this organizational tool will save you time and create more efficient work completion. Employers look for that in applicants.

Problem-Solving: At the end of the day, take some time to reflect on what went well and what did not. If you find something was a major problem that day – either a time suck or seemed unnecessarily taxing – spend some time identifying and solving the problem. If your children fought you every step of the way, brainstorm some ideas to find a solution that helps both you and them. If you found that it felt impossible to complete your own work, look at your schedule and see what can be done about this struggle. Consult others, do research online, and spend time on these thoughts. Solving these problems can significantly cut down on your daily stress and improve this at-home experience drastically. It’s worth the time and is a habit that, once developed, you can take with you to the workplace.

Frontload Tasks: Frontloading tasks when possible is an incredible way to invest time and energy into organization. Just like some people set their clothes out the night before or plan their meals for the week, frontloading is always an investment in the near future and your mental health. Consider some tasks you can do ahead of time. Batch them together and chunk them into your calendar. Maybe meal planning is more feasible since everyone is home right now. Get them in on the action and plan your meals for the week; you might even schedule who is going to start the meals or clean up each night. You may also save time by scheduling your bills to be paid--either automatically or just for the month or week. This saves time later, when you’d pay each individually as they come. In the workplace, frontloading skills show that you can anticipate what’s coming, plan for it, and make it less stressful.

Cutting the Fat: Now is the perfect time to cut out things that are not necessary for your family. Do you have subscriptions or memberships you’re paying for that you’re never using? Cut them out of your budget. Is your family over-committed to activities and regular events that you now realize aren’t helpful like you’d thought? Commit to skipping those when they start back up. In the workplace, cutting fat saves time, money, and energy. Take a critical look at what your family is spending time, money, and energy on and find things to cut. And when you’re interviewing or at the workplace, tap into this lean organizational skill as a reason you are a valuable resource.

Take advantage of this opportunity to sharpen your organizational skills as a mom. Take it a step further by maximizing your time management skills with these other tips on maximizing your work and home during this quarantine. Should you find yourself needing additional support, Parents Pivot is here for you! Set up a coaching call for one-on-one help!

Ask An Expert: Return To Work Edition

Anna has been a featured expert on The Mom Project’s Unity Hour: Return to Work Edition. Listen to Anna talk about the top three things companies are looking for in a candidate; the strengths that returning candidates should highlight; the “power in the pause” and how best to articulate this during an interview and on your resume; plus many more essential tips for any woman returning to paid work after a pause.

Mama, You Got This

I see you mama. You are working hard. Trying to keep up with the high standards that you set for yourself. Trying to juggle working, home schooling, keeping the kids from burning the house down, cooking, cleaning, watching the news, but not too much, making sure you have enough toilet paper and cleaning supplies (we were never able to find hand sanitizer), making sure you stay calm so the kids can stay calm. I see you.

Every parent that I have talked to since quarantine started is feeling the pressure. And now that we are weeks into this, the novelty, if we can even call it that, is wearing off. We are still trying to manage through. How do we keep our kids safe and sane for a month and longer indoors? How do I persuade my 18 month old to play quietly without me for an hour while I take a conference call? Can we figure out how to explain 3rd grade fractions? Will our kids forget how to read? Are they getting too much screen time? How can I manage having 5 people who need to use the internet at home when we don’t have that many devices or that much bandwidth? Do I need to scrub all of the groceries before I bring them in the house? If I show my team at work that I can’t handle everything the way that I did pre COVID, then is my job at risk? Will my job be at risk with the decline in the economy and COVID disruption? Those are just the comments from those of us lucky enough to be able to work from home.

This is too much for anyone to handle and it’s totally normal to feel overwhelmed right now. These are strange times with lots of uncertainty. But there are things that we can do to move through this period. If you could do ONE thing, then I would ask you to let go of perfection. This isn’t easy. I know. I hear this all the time from my stay at home and working parent clients: Concerns about doing anything less than what they were doing pre COVID while adding on lots of extra responsibilities that are inescapable in this new reality.

But how do we do let go of our high standards and expectations if they are not serving us?

1)    Start with giving yourself permission. These times are completely unlike any other times that we have experienced. It’s ok to let ourselves act like it. Give yourself permission to try something a little different.

2)    Experiment. What does it look like to do things a little differently? Choose one thing to let go of in the next few days. Maybe it is letting go of making sure that ALL of the kids’ school work gets done that day. It could be coming to terms with Taco Tuesday being on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday too because that is what is easiest to make at the end of the day. What happened? It’s likely that if we experiment things won’t be as out of control as we might have originally thought. Which leads me to my next point.

3)    Share the responsibility. What might it look like to share responsibilities with other people in your family. For example, what does it look like to share meal planning responsibilities with older kids and be ok with what they decide to make because they planned and cooked and you didn’t have to do that. Nobody is going to do things the way that you would do it and there is learning for everyone in that. What responsibility could you try sharing?

4)    Think about what meaning you are giving to situations when you are holding on to “how things used to be”. We hold ourselves to such high standards. We think that if we do anything less than that, then we are not good parents or coworkers. That is not true. There is opportunity in letting go of perfect. One opportunity is connection through vulnerability as Brene Brown likes to share. Instead of thinking I can’t get my kid to work through all of his school work in a day and that means I am a bad parent or that he is never going to understand math. What if we realized that this is a hard time? Our kids are feeling it too. They are being asked to learn new things in this hard environment just like we are. What if this is an opportunity to relate and share with your kids: “I know this is hard. It’s hard for me too. I love you. Let’s figure this out.”

5)    Communicate. Who do you need to communicate to? It is not realistic to try to get 50 jobs done at one time. Who do you need to communicate with to get this done, define priorities, or get help. What conversations can you have with coworkers about work priorities and expectations? What conversations can you have with family members about expectations?

6)    Reduce: What are your priorities. My coach recently challenged me with the 80:20 rule. It goes like this: 20% of the work that we do leads to 80% of our success. What is not contributing to success in our jobs anymore? What can we remove? What can we reduce? Do we need to have all of those zoom calls? Could we manage with project delivery deadlines, setting expectations, reevaluating what is working and what is not working?

7)    Create your own space. Now more than ever while we are quarantined in a small space with the same people, we need a space to call our own. Having your own space can give you an oasis of control in a sea of crazy. What space can you have to yourself? What corner of that city apartment or square foot in your home?

8)    Create your own time. See above. When we are quarantined with the same people All. Day. Long. we need a little time for ourselves. When can you take a 20 minute walk or do a 7 minute workout or 10 minute meditation or not do anything for 20 minutes?

9)    Connect. At Parents Pivot we are running a free group coaching program for parents working from home with young children for the month of April at 1pm CT. This is an opportunity to connect with other parents who are going through what you are going through, brainstorm solutions, and support each other. Register in advance for this meeting.

Another outstanding resource for connection: The Social Mama app! This app was built with the mission of connecting mothers!! There couldn’t be a better time for you to check this out and connect with other women experiencing the same things that you are. I am proud to be an “Expert Mama” for the app.

10) What are you grateful for? Even before COVID started we had a family tradition of our gratitude bowl. We go around the table at dinner and ask everyone what they are grateful for. Sometimes we write this down and add it to the bowl. That physical representation of the papers in the bowl remind us that we have a lot to be grateful for.

And guess what… We can’t do all of that. Start with one thing. Which one thing will you start with? I see you mama and you got this!!

Managing Difficult Conversations At Work And At Home

Managing Difficult Conversations at Work And Home | Parents Pivot

Parenting develops skills that directly transfer to the workplace. One skill you’ve practiced ad nauseum as a mother is having difficult conversations. No doubt you have discussed with your children why bad things happen as they’ve heard the latest horrible news story. Maybe you’ve had to explain how Mr. Teddy got destroyed in the washing machine or why certain words are major no-nos. 

As a parent, you’ve spent more than your share of time as a mentor and teacher to your children. You’ve honed your communication skills in unique ways--some less enjoyable than others. You’ve had opportunities to work through your child’s issues with your spouse, your child’s teachers, doctors, and other people who have worked with you and your children. Some of the more difficult discussions you’ve had may be with extended family members and friends who parent differently than you. And on top of all that, you’ve sharpened your listening skills, which is central to any communication skill. You’ve had to learn to decipher your children’s needs and listen to doctors’ recommendations and suggestions as your child has grown. 

Managing difficult conversations with children

Managing difficult conversations with your children is a master mom skill that you’ve honed in your time as a parent. Kids, other parents, and family members with unwelcome advice – they all require master conversation-management skills. Commonsense.org provides a great break-down of how to manage these types of conversations, specifically for children at different ages. 

Consider these tips for children at various ages:

• Ages 2-7: At this age, kids begin to start developing basic understandings of the world around them. In general, it’s good to keep the difficult news under wraps as much as possible. However, when that’s not a viable option, listen to what they know. Once you know this, affirm your child’s emotions, explain things as simply as possible using vocabulary they understand, and reassure them that they are safe. 

• Ages 7-12: Children this age have more understanding and awareness of the world but aren’t yet ready to analyze the issues like teenagers are. When difficult topics come up with these children, consider focusing on the positive things in the situation (like how many people acted heroically), be sensitive to their emotions or curiosities, and encourage them to evaluate the situation critically while they’re in the safety of your home. Kids this age will also need to understand the context of the situation as they evaluate the situation.

• Ages 13-18: Teenagers have major interest in what is being said online and what their friends think about topics. Getting over this hurdle can be difficult but you will still need to encourage them to engage in open dialogue with you. Admit when you don’t know something, ask them to consider solutions to big issues, and help them sort through the complex elements of major current events. Teenagers aren’t going to respond to lectures, so these difficult discussions may feel less formal but should still be intentional.

How to capitalize on these transferable skills

Taking these experiences and converting them into resume-ready, marketable skills is your next step. You’ll want to capitalize on your experiences during resume-crafting, interviews, and networking events. 

Here are some skills to highlight:

• Negotiating. As a parent, you’ve negotiated everything from allowance to meals and bedtime routines. In the workplace, these skills translate into negotiating sales deals, finding the middle ground for employees in your charge, and working with colleagues to find solutions to common problems. Discuss successful ways you’ve negotiated with your children and the benefits of the solution that eventually resulted from the negotiation. Explain that these negotiations were often made with a child lacking well-developed reasoning skills and why that makes you more qualified to negotiate with adults in the workplace. 

• Teaching and explaining. Moms spend an extensive amount of time explaining important things to their children and it takes a deep understanding of a concept to gather the necessary information to explain the ins and outs of a concept. With children, you have invested a lot of time explaining basic concepts in life as well as more complex things. Explanations about sad things when grandparents pass and simple concepts, like how to tie a shoe. As an employee, you’ll be able to use these skills in leadership positions and as a member of teams. Capitalize on your abilities to find out where someone is so that you can get them to where they need to be as you explain concepts and situations in the workplace.

• Listening. Having difficult conversations often begins by listening to others’ perspectives. Parenting naturally requires honing listening skills during discipline, difficult discussions, and other conversations. Parents need to listen to decipher their children’s concerns, needs, and complaints. Listening allows for better communication and problem-solving. Don’t be afraid to tout the listening skills you’ve honed as a parent. Give examples of how  your listening skills helped you solve problems with your children, spouse, or other related adult. How did listening help you provide a more well-informed response? How did listening help with problem-solving with your spouse or your child’s pediatrician? These same skills transfer to the workplace on a daily basis.

• Understanding the audience. Interpersonal communication issues often come down to not understanding the perspective of the audience. As a parent, you’ve spent considerable time focusing on understanding the perspective of others, including your children. Other parents often come from backgrounds and experiences that are different from yours, as well. In your experience as a parent, you’ve learned how to navigate responses to others who have a different perspective from you. This skill is important in the workplace, especially workplaces that have people from various backgrounds and perspectives. With these skills, you’ll be able to anticipate how to appeal to colleagues, customers, and other stakeholders in the workplace. 

• Perfecting tone. A person’s tone of voice can greatly affect how impactful and successful their message is. As a parent, you’ve had to manage your own tone during conversations with your children. The more effective your tone, the more successful the outcome will be. Ineffective tone can add to stress in the workplace and take away from progress and success. It’s important to discuss how you read the audience and use an appropriate tone of voice to help reach a successful outcome in a situation. As a parent, you’ve practiced using a calming tone during a stressful situation; that tone helps to relieve stress with heated emotions and turn it back to the facts at hand. This converts nicely in the workplace; colleagues who can use appropriate tone to discuss a project or issue will be part of work progress and workplace harmony. 

You’ve already got it covered!

The difficult discussions you’ve had as a parent (as well as other skills) are directly transferable to the workplace. And managing difficult conversations is just one example! Trust your experience as you reach out during network events, tout your skills during an interview, or put together a resume. If you need help or more clarification for doing this, reach out to Anna for one-on-one coaching. Parents Pivot is here for you.

Tips for Managing Work & Home During Corona Virus Quarantine

This health crisis in our country is something that none of us expected. It has taken a toll on many families, in various ways, across the entire country. While the best thing we can do to help each other is to stay at home and help flatten the curve, there are also things that we can do inside our home to make this quarantine more manageable for everyone. 

Many of us still have responsibilities at work and added responsibilities at home, so must continue with life, just not as usual. Here are a few tips for managing work and home during the corona virus quarantine. 

• Map out your new daily routine. Setting expectations and routines for your family is healthy for everyone, regardless of age. Knowing that breakfast is at 8am and everyone is going to do quiet time in the middle of the afternoon puts structure and order in a place where chaos can easily take over. 

• Make an idea jar. Come up with a list of activities with your child that he or she can do when they get bored. This is especially helpful for those moments when you need focus time to complete a project or will be in a virtual meeting. The idea jar should be filled with independent and relatively quiet activities, but that are still really fun.

• Involve your kids when you can. Let your little ones snuggle in your lap during a conference call or sit in your lap and bang on the disconnected keyboard. My experience has been that colleagues love getting to see their cute faces and will often chat with them a bit too. 

• Keep your home clean. This will be the only place that your family will spend for the next few weeks. Keeping it clean is important to stay positive and for a healthy environment. Involve the entire family in chores and make it a part of your daily routine. Little ones can help dust or pick up toys and other small items. Older kids can keep up with the dishes and sweep the floors. Try to get the whole family involved. We all have a lot on our plates and having others involved can help share the load.

• Let go of perfect. This is perhaps the best opportunity to really bond with your family in a unique way and take advantage of flexible work. Don’t expect things to be quiet and controlled all of the time. For example, kids in the background on a conference call are ok – just set expectations with your colleague at the beginning of the meeting. 

• Take care of yourself. Plan out breaks. Make exercise part of your routine. Take a walk around the block or sit in your backyard and enjoy the fresh air. A change of scenery and a break from work and chores will keep both your mind and body healthy.

• Utilize the Pomodoro technique- quick 15 minute bursts of work can be helpful for managing getting things done and managing time with the kids.

• Don’t feel guilty about screen time. TV and ipad use is ok. Do your best to monitor usage and help your children to choose educational and culturally diverse programming and activities. There are lots of great educational apps, many of which are being offered for free during this unusual time. Technology can be a huge benefit for when you’d like to get some work done, uninterrupted.

• Start using printables (or create your own). If you have a printer at home, you can find free or inexpensive printables on any topic you can think of: coloring pages, educational games and activities, journaling pages, brain teasers, and more. Google your interests (for work or pleasure) and tag “printable” at the end to see what you can find.

• Be open with your work community and your family. How are you holding up? If this situation is feeling overwhelming, or you simply cannot work as productively and project deadlines need to be pushed back, be as open and honest with your colleagues as you can. Everyone is going through this together, and you’ll likely be offered solutions to help.

If you are struggling with managing work and home during the corona virus quarantine, please let the Parents Pivot team know how we can help. 

How to Manage Childcare in Houston

For many parents, returning to paid work may involve overcoming one major hurdle: finding childcare. If you find yourself facing this challenge, the needs of your children, the level of flexibility you need, the costs involved, and the quality of the childcare itself are all likely swirling through your mind. These are important things to consider before choosing a place for your children as you pivot back to paid work. 

In Houston, there are plenty of options for parents who are returning to paid work and need childcare. The options can feel overwhelming, but knowing what your options are, what questions to ask, and what to look for will help you make the best choice for your family with minimal stress.

Types of Childcare

In many cases, returning to the paid work means looking for full time childcare, specifically a daycare or full-time nanny. Other times, you may be working from home or have an irregular need for childcare; it may serve you best to use drop-in childcare companies. These services charge by the hour and don’t require a specific childcare schedule. One Houston resource that covers a myriad of situations is the Motherhood Center. The Motherhood Center hosts multiple services, with babysitting being one of them. You can hire a nanny through them or use their last minute babysitting services as a back-up, even if your child is sick. They also offer babysitting services on major holidays.

A couple of budget-friendly options include mother's day out programs and co-ops. There are many Mother’s day out programs across the city that offer specific days and times when you can drop your child off without long-term contracts or commitments. These are great for flexible working schedules when you just need a few hours here and there. A childcare co-op allows you to share childcare costs with other families, providing an opportunity for a low commitment of childcare hours with a smaller budget. Poe Cooperative Nursery School and Southampton Montessori are just a couple of examples of co-ops available in Houston.

Asking questions

Asking the right questions provides you with answers that allow you to make the best decision for your family when it comes to childcare. While some of the answers will be found on their website, schedule a face-to-face meeting and interview the provider. Visiting a childcare provider in person provides insight a website never will, allowing your mom instincts to play a role in the decision as well. 

Here are some suggested questions to get you started:

• Are you a licensed childcare provider?

• What are your rates?

• Do you offer part-time, flexible childcare options?

• What are your policies on sick days, vacations, summer break, and holidays?

• What’s the teacher to child ratio?

• What is your curriculum for my child’s age group?

• Do you provide snacks or other foods for children?

• What’s your discipline and childcare philosophy?

• How do you communicate with parents?

• Is transportation to and from school provided?

Start with these questions and add your own for your particular situation. No question is a bad or silly question. When it comes to finding quality care for your children, you need to be completely comfortable they are in good hands.

What’s important in a childcare provider?

Everyone has different expectations of childcare facilities. What you’ll prefer will depend on your priorities, personalities, and other preferences. As you narrow down your choices, consider which qualities are important to you. You’ll get a feel for some of these qualities as you tour the facilities. As you tour, keep a lookout for these important aspects:

• Attentiveness: How do the workers interact with you and your children, and the children they are currently caring for? Are they aware of everything that is going on? Do they dismiss the children in their care when they are speaking with you?

• Safety: How does the building maintenance and playground safety equipment look?

• The cleanliness and hygiene habits in the children’s rooms

• Caregivers’ personalities: Do their personalities match with the types of caregivers you want with your children every day? Patience and kindness are staples to look for, but there are many personality traits that may help your child transition in the best way. Look for those when searching for the best childcare provider.

• Schedule: What is the structure of their day? How tight is the structure and does it match what you wish for your children?

• Creativity: Are there options for creative outlets provided for children?

• Love: Do the caretakers love children?

After you’ve toured and interviewed, look at reviews online. As you comb through them, remember that others may have priorities that differ from yours but it’s a good idea to be sure to watch for trends, positive or negative. Some facilities will have plenty of reviews and others will have fewer; this isn’t always indicative of the quality of the facility, but the information is still valuable. 

You can do this!

Choosing the best childcare option for your family is important for your peace of mind and once you’ve crossed the hurdle, you’ll breathe a sigh of relief knowing your transition back to paid work will be OK. If you need help with this part of the pivot, Parents Pivot is here for you. We have resources for you and you can set up a coaching session.

Flexible Working Solutions for Parents

Flexibility and parenting come hand-in-hand, especially when it comes to work. The great news for parents looking to return to paid work after a career pause, is that finding those flexible positions is becoming easier. Flexible work has become a highly sought-after option for job hunters of all types, not just parents. In response, flexible work is gaining traction amongst employers and businesses, both nationally and internationally. There are many reasons as to why, but according to one study, offering flexible work options increases worker loyalty, a major benefit for both the employee and the employer!

As a parent returning to paid work, flexible work may be the perfect fit for you and your family. Here are some questions to ask and areas to consider before diving head first into flexible work. 

Is flexible work a good fit for me?

Flexible schedules or flexible work locations aren’t for everyone, but the benefits are attractive to many, especially parents. For instance, one study found that employees achieved an improved work-life balance with flexible work. This balance increases employee well-being, which is good, in turn, for the company itself. As a parent, you can leverage this when returning to work, by spotlighting the advantages to both you and the employer as a reason why they should hire you.  If a flexible arrangement will work for you, it can work for the employer as well. 

To prove the point further, one survey of over 7,000 professionals found four main reasons people seek out flexible work. At the top? Work-life balance. Other major reasons included family, commute stress, time savings, and cost savings. Flexible work allows parents to save on childcare costs and spend more time with their families. There are also studies that show that working from home boost productively, such as this one from Stanford, led by Nicholas Bloom. There are many reasons why flexible work may be for you. 

As you are on the job hunt and considering whether a flexible job is important to you, consider your “Why?” of going back to work. Will flexible work help you achieve your overall objectives? Is it a deal-breaker? Answering these questions will help you narrow down your search.

Common Types of Flexible Work Positions

Flexible work comes in various forms for both full-time and part-time employees. Here are a few of the variations that you may find when job hunting: 

• Full-time remote work opportunities exist that allow employees to work from anywhere they wish: home office, coffee shops, co-working space, etc.  

• Some remote work opportunities require that you live in a specific time zone, country, or close enough to drive into the office on occasion. 

• Many part- or full-time positions allow for flexible hours as long as it fits into the company’s parameters, like overlapping hours during certain parts of the day or working a set number of hours a day or week, instead of on a schedule. These type of positions require that you get the work done without relying on how long the job takes.

• Freelancers cover a wide variety of options. They can work on-site, off-site, or a mixture of the two. They often find remote or on-site work that’s flexible, as well. This work can be temporary or long-term. 

• You may some some positions involve a combination of everything: on-site work, remote work, and even travel. 

As demand increases for flexible work, employers continue to offer new and creative solutions to keep employees happy and to keep good talent in-house. 

Popular Flexible Workplaces

Some types of work are more popular for flexible work than others, but you’ll find flexible work opportunities in almost every type of work out there. Some of the popular job categories for flexible work include:

• Computer and IT. Jobs in this category include anything from cloud-based work to computer repair. Flexible work if common for software developers, web designers, and other areas of computer expertise.

• Project managers. These positions may involve managing a budget, consulting, working with vendors, and seeing a project through from beginning to end. Some project managers are required to have a Project Management Professional certification.

• Customer service. These various positions include in-person, instant message, e-mail, or phone contact, providing problem-solving solutions for clients.

• Sales. These positions often create a flexible work schedule by their very nature. Managing relationships, networking, and generating leads are central to success, creating flexibility.

• Education and Training. Education jobs aren’t just for the K-12 level, anymore. Online teaching jobs are more common than ever, but there are training positions available that are flexible; they allow employees to work with people at college, professional, or organizational levels. 

• Accounting and Finance. Finance jobs are diverse and flexible. Employees may manage a client’s finances, assist with a company’s collections, or administer accounts receivable. 

If flexible work is what you’re looking for, ask potential employers or their employees how flexible the work is or what opportunities you might have for flexing your work hours or location, depending on your needs. 

Need a work space?

As a result of this major shift toward flexible work, including remote work, co-working spaces have been popping up all over. These spaces offer short-term, temporary, or long-term desks and meeting spaces for people who aren’t going into the office every day but need a professional place to work outside the home. In Houston, Sesh is a great place for female entrepreneurs, freelancers and independent contractors to find a desk to work and a room to meet with clients. Like many coworking spaces, you can rent a space by the hour or even rent a dedicated space that you can return to. They also offer an ambiance and camaraderie that a coffee shop doesn’t. Other amenities to look for include occasional childcare options, beverages, snacks, and business resources. 

Consider Your Options

If flexible work is what you’re looking for, go for it. Flexible work could be the answer to this pivot in your life. If you’re having trouble finding something that fits your ideal situation, Parents Pivot is here for you.

We have resources for you, including  tailored coaching sessions to meet your needs. You are also invited to join us for a special panel on flexible work on April 2:

Is Houston Ready for Flexible Work Schedules?

When: April 2 from 5-6:30pm

Where: Motherhood Center

Cohosted with the Greater Houston Women's Chamber of Commerce, Anna will be moderating a panel on flexible work exploring topics like: How would Houston evolve if more flexible work opportunities were available? Would more employees be able to work for their dream organization—without a long commute? Would employers be able to afford their dream candidates at a reduced rate? Would Houstonians be able to care for loved ones, without guilt? Would productivity and job satisfaction increase?

Onsite childcare is available! Learn more and register here. 

Develop Coaching Skills With your Children to Prepare for Returning to Work

When parents return to the workplace, they often worry about how their children will adjust. Children can struggle with the changes that come with a parent’s return to work, but it doesn’t have to be this way. And just like many skills you acquire in motherhood, you can ease the transition by using coaching skills that will easily transition to the workplace.

Today, let’s talk about how to ease your children into their brave new world while adding valuable coaching skills to your resume. Here is a four step process to use as the backbone for helping your children and sharpening your skills:

Broaching the Topic

First, tell your children that you plan to return to paid work. Explain your “why” for returning to work. Adapt your approach for your specific children, keeping their unique personalities in mind Plan a good time to talk to them and make your message gentle and clear. Be ready for questions and prepare to answer openly and honestly. Transparency during this process will only help strengthen your relationships with your children and build trust in the process.

Managing Expectations

Help your children understand what this transition will look like for the family. Come prepared to talk through the upcoming changes. Explain to your children what new responsibilities they may have. Will they need to begin doing their own laundry? Will they ride the bus to school instead of being dropped off? Will they need to help make dinner? 

Maybe your return to paid work will make their lives easier in some ways. Maybe they will get to spend more time with friends, or your return to work will mean you can afford the vacation your family has been talking about. Be sure to explain the changes, both difficult and enjoyable.

Be prepared for them to ask questions about aspects of the change you didn’t think of. That’s all a part of the natural process of dealing with change.

Addressing Fears

As you have this conversation and answer questions, children may bring up their fears and trepidations. This is a good time to be a coach to them. Tara Mohr recommends these five methods for addressing fears; you can also apply one or all of these to your children:

1. Create a Character: Work with your child to invent a fear character, either based on a character in a story or a completely new one.  This character will represent fear. Role play this with your children, teaching them to talk to their fear and be in charge of their fear.  For example, your child may practice saying, “Well, hello, Cruella DeVille. I see you’re here for a visit.” Practicing talking to a fear character will help them take charge of their fears.

2. Follow the fear through to the end game: This is the “so what?” game. While you wouldn’t want to diminish your child’s fear, play out the fear.  If they’re afraid they’ll lose all their friends because of the change in schedule that comes with you returning to work, ask, “So what would you do then?” and help them figure out that they aren't losing their friends, but will simply be seeing them at different times during the week. 

3. Ask, “Is it true”?: Many fears are irrational or overly self-protective.  As your little ones are learning to manage this, help them practice asking if their fear is real.  Assure them that there’s absolutely no job in the world that would make you love them less and that you’re still going to their soccer games on Saturday mornings.

4. Connect to love: Love and fear cannot coexist.  So, help your child connect to something that reminds them of love: a favorite song, an activity, or even remembering their favorite family activity. This practice will help them get past fear and overcome it. You can also purchase a teddy bear or book that allows you to record your voice. Your child can replay it, listening to your voice when fears emerge and you aren’t around.

5. Let fear be your traveling companion: If the tools above don’t work, teach your children to let their fear be part of their journey, much like a car that’s riding beside yours on the freeway. You know the car’s there; it’s in your peripheral vision. But, it’s not keeping you from getting to your destination, not touching you, not cutting you off.  It’s uncomfortable, but not stopping you from getting to the destination, whatever that may be.

These five tools will help you to equip your children to manage their own fear during your pivot and during other stages of life transitions. Coaching is real-world practice that will give you confidence in the workplace. I encourage you to use your coaching skills any chance you get, with family and friends too.

Following Up

As you make your way through the process of returning to paid work, follow up with your children and continue coaching them. Use your coaching skills, have open dialogue, and actively listen. As time passes, your children’s emotions will develop and change. They are more resilient and adaptable than we often give them credit for. But even so, following up often is important to coach your children during this big life transition.

As you transition back to paid work, it’s less stressful when your children are adjusting well to their new lives. As you make progress toward your goal, check out these helpful resources. If you need additional support, we’re here to help.