Hello friends,

Welcome back to Shakthi’s scribble. This time I have penned something more interesting to mothers especially who are working mothers and managing house now all by themselves due to lock down.

Urging you all to #Stay home #stay safe

Moving on to the topic How to manage Household work and office during this LockDown?

The first thing that comes to your mind will be all the daily chores+office work+taking care of Children+ spending time with family+ add more. I know its definitely endless.What you can do is plan your day according to work you have. Yes, you heard me right planning. It the most important task you need to do during this time to have a work & office life balance from home.

Remember nothing is changed from your life except the travel time, shopping time, going out to park with your kids, visiting place of worship the remaining all chores are same and exists. In addition to existing tasks now you have to add up household cleaning work if in case you have been employing a domestic help for those work earlier.

The start of the day and the end of the day is going to be the same. So, how to make this period effective and do all works in time? Lets read about it further sections.

1. Plan Your Day

• Start Practicing to prepare a day plan that covers all your chores and time needed for it and note in down down either in a planner note or in any of planner app you use.

                                                               A Sample Planner

• Make your in between break time during work to do daily cleaning and pre-preparation work for cooking.

               2. Spouse Help

• At this time you can definitely ask your spouse to lend a hand and help you in doing the household chores.
• As they have no work travel time and with gym and all sporting activities is closed due to lock down they can do small-small household activities and equate it with workout.
• Me and my husband are sharing our responsibilities and doing all chores hence am able to take up my work(writing this blog too) during this time. It all needs mutual understanding and the end result is you build a strong bond. Make it a couple goal and see the change for yourself.

             3. Make the small hands learn by Doing

• As there is no outdoor play make children engage in household chore especially while cooking,cleaning and washing clothes. Let them take part in all activities and learn through practical work.
• Allow them to wash vegetables, fruits and teach them their name, where it grown, how it harvested, how it reaches our home. Definitely they will feel interesting.
• Later when you get busy with office work you can play them videos regarding cultivation of vegetables and fruits and they will recollect and learn more.
• In the same method while doing cleaning you can speak to them about how your life was during your childhood, how you spent life with parents and grand-parents this  definitely would build a bond between you and your children.
• While washing clothes tell them how mom & dad work and earn to buy all essentials for them and teach them about the values & saving money.

4. Take small breaks and care yourself

• Take small breaks while you do work and focus on improving your health.
• Do meditate for 20-30 minutes each day.
• Spend some quality time for skin care and hair routine.
• Get dressed up at have a date dinner or lunch with people at home with home made food during weekends. #Stay home # Stay Safe.
• Watch a movie from amazon prime or netflix or simply turn on tv and watch any program with whole family.
• Dress up properly for work and feel you are work whenever possible.
• Make a couple goal, parents goal and family goal.
• Let the children  get enough time from you remember they are in situation where they need more moral support from parents.
• Minimize your cooking, remember this is no holiday season so do not prepare full meals thalli. Make healthy and simple dishes, in limited quantities.
• Don’t waste food during this time.

I would take this opportunity and request all my friends and readers of this blog to support your family’s daily help (your cook/your maid/ your car driver/ your gardener/ your child’s care taker) by paying their salaries for the respective month during this lock down as they are also in need of money. We are working from home and getting paid for it as our companies are paying our salary. Just imagine work from home is impossible for our daily helps, they are too people like us. So, lets understand and support the people who have been supporting us. Don’t deny pays for daily help. Lets us pay them their right dues. 

Do me a favor by commenting if you are agreeing to the above said. I agree and I am gonna pay my daily help her salary for the respective months and I support her.

Importantly follow government guidelines and Stay home and Stay Safe.

#Stay Home break the chain #Stay Safe