Hi — I’m Ariel, Michelle’s editor and sister-in-law. You may have seen me here before writing about living in a small house, going full time with my side hustle, and living a low-waste lifestyle. I’m writing today about what it’s like to work, parent, and teach from home during a crisis — and what has helped our family cope.
Right now I’m sitting in the living room writing this, while my 9-year-old is in the next room on his laptop after a video call with his third grade teacher. He’s already had a meltdown and my husband had to step away from his work to help him.
Elsewhere in the house, our 11-year-old is on a video call with his math teacher because he’s unsure how to submit work on Google Classroom. Our daughter is getting ready for the first of two or three Zoom meetings this morning.
My husband, who teaches special education, spends his days creating video lessons and answering messages from parents.
Our youngest needs constant help refocusing on schoolwork. He can manage five to ten minutes before he’s distracted and asks about snacks or video games. On a rough day he gets frustrated and cries — third graders weren’t built for this new version of school.
Since I started writing, he’s interrupted me a dozen times asking about the Hulk, axolotls, and whether he can have leftover Easter candy.
Because of the pandemic, this is our new normal — and likely yours as well.
None of us were prepared for remote learning, remote work, and parenting all at once. We also didn’t expect the emotional toll it would take on everyone in the household.
I genuinely love being home, but I’ve cried many times over the past weeks. Friends have said the same. We post memes to lighten the mood and joke about extra drinks, but the truth is we’re overwhelmed.
So where do we go from here? How can we make the juggling of work, teaching, and parenting easier?
There’s no single switch to flip. But humans are resilient, and we can learn to adapt. I don’t have all the answers, but here are practical approaches that have made this strange situation more tolerable. These come from friends, other writers, and discoveries I didn’t expect to make about myself.
Communicate, communicate, communicate.
In the first week of online learning, my sixth grader was spending nearly seven hours a day on schoolwork. It felt overwhelming, and I didn’t know if that was normal. After reaching out to teachers, I learned that about three hours was the expectation — not seven.
I also exchanged emails with my daughter’s AP chemistry teacher after seeing what looked like new material — our district had a “no new material” policy. The teacher explained that AP courses are an exception: new content could be assigned, but there wouldn’t be summative grades.
The takeaway: ask what’s expected right now. It’s an extra step, but it reduces stress and clarifies priorities.
The same applies at work. Remote setups reduce spontaneous conversations with colleagues and supervisors, so you need to be proactive in asking questions or requesting clarification.
I used to worry about bothering people with questions like “What did you mean by…?” but in this situation, everyone is asking. It’s fine to admit confusion or to explain your constraints — for example, that your toddler naps at 1 p.m. and afternoon meetings work better than mornings.
Employers and teachers are figuring things out too. Open communication helps everyone adjust and creates opportunities to collaborate more effectively.
Related: 15 of My Best Working From Home Tips So You Can Succeed
Triage your day.
You’ll have a long list of tasks, but you won’t finish them all — and that’s okay. Your day won’t collapse if everyone isn’t logged into class at 8 a.m., if lunch is a bit late, or if bedtime slips a little.
Instead of forcing a rigid schedule that tries to account for everything, prioritize tasks by urgency.
A meeting with your boss may take precedence over getting a child onto a Zoom call; teachers know many parents are juggling work and will often be flexible. Ask teachers which assignments are essential and don’t stress about the rest.
A friend told me she asks teachers to highlight one or two crucial assignments each day because that’s all she can manage while protecting her mental health. That’s valid — respecting limits is important.
Keep a routine.
Routines — not strict schedules — help people, especially children, feel secure. A schedule is a timed list; a routine is the order of activities. For example, a schedule might say “start work at 8 a.m.” while a routine is “sit down to work after morning coffee.”
Everyone had routines before stay-at-home measures: breakfast, playtime, drop-off at school, commute, work. Recreating elements of that rhythm helps signal the start and end of the day.
If you can, mimic parts of your old routine or create a new one. Instead of a morning commute, try a short family walk; end the workday with a walk around the block. At our house, mornings may begin with breakfast and TV, and we finish the day with a brief walk — it’s helping.
Stop being so hard on yourself.
Many parents feel judged by how much screen time children get. That mindset — that screen time equals failure — is especially unfair during a global crisis.
The same pressure applies to bedtimes and meal choices. There’s no single correct approach right now. We’re in survival mode: if cookies and three hours of Minecraft let you work, that’s okay. Giving yourself space to get work done won’t harm your child.
Give in to the crazy.
I adopted the “give in” attitude after our third child was born. Juggling school runs, a newborn, and a toddler felt chaotic. One day, overwhelmed and ready to lose my temper, I joined my kids in spinning around the room. The baby stopped crying and we all laughed. Letting go felt better than forcing order.
These days it might be dancing in the living room — even while I’m on crutches after breaking my leg. I don’t worry about the neighbors. Giving in to small bursts of silliness often prevents a bigger meltdown and helps us reconnect.
If you can, find some joy in this new lifestyle.
The pandemic has pushed many of us into an intense work-from-home experience. Normally, remote work has perks — flexibility, fewer commutes, more time outdoors — but the necessity and stress have drained the fun.
A coworker’s comment helped me reframe things: she said she was grateful to see her children again. It hit me hard because, before the pandemic, I rarely saw my kids. Now we’re all home together: eating lunch outside, taking walks between meetings, and having more moments together.
I’m not pretending everything is perfect. I lost it the other day over something small and cried. My youngest has asked dozens more questions while I wrote this and I may still scream. But intentionally finding small joyful moments helps me cope.
How are you doing right now?
