Moren Manalastas, a wife and mom of two, has been working remotely as an events and content administrator for the past years for Connected Women. It was this time that she learned to work while taking care of her father who was sick, and a baby who is around a year old. “Taking care of my father has been a challenging experience,” she narrates. “It was unexpected.

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Juggling additional responsibilities with caring for my baby was not easy but in the end, it was manageable.” Moren is just one of the many remote workers who have to be caretakers to loved ones at home as well. Instead of quitting their jobs, they found a set-up that has worked for both.

Below are some tips we’ve gathered from those who have been able to do it.

1. Have a regular routine and establish a work flow.

Moren has a regular routine that involves taking care of her baby, her dad, and then opening her day-to-day work tasks.

Trello blog recommends that remote working parents write down their tasks for the day as well as wake up at the same time everyday. “Write out your routine and stick to it. Your parent brain is constantly juggling 50 things,” says Ariel Rule in the article. “You probably forget more than you remember. Recording your to-do list is vital to ever getting anything done. Even better is a digital list that you can quickly reference.” When it comes to waking up everyday at the same time, she says, “Wake up the same time every day, including the weekends. This can be hard if you’ve got little ones that keep you up throughout the night or have a schedule of their own. Waking up at the same time helps to create consistency that retrains your brain so it knows what to expect.”

Establishing a work flow is also important, according to Rule. This can be something like having a strict location that is for work only, and then you go out to attend to your kid or parent’s needs when you go out. It can also be about establishing other ground rules. For Moren, she makes sure that as much as possible, she performs work within the team’s schedule which is 9 AM to 6 PM. If she has to attend to her baby or her dad, she tells the rest of the team, then does that task. If she can come back to work, she does; if not, she tells them which day she will be back

2. Inform your boss about it and talk out your set-up.

Julian Mauricio, a writer for ABS-CBN Publishing, who is also the sole caretaker of his mother when he is home, says that his bosses know about his situation. They have thankfully let him take care of his mom while he is an entertainment journalist at the same time. He has a flexible schedule and can come to the office on a less rigid schedule as compared to his colleagues. He can also come home to look after his mother, drive her to the hospital, buy medicines, do errands, and so on. Since his work is output-based, as long as he is able to deliver articles, he is allowed to work within a more flexible set-up.

Tell your superiors about your set-up and find a way to work around it. Many superiors can be considerate of the situation and can advise you how to get things done while still attending to your family obligations.

3. Consider getting help at times.

Consider having a relative, maid, or caregiver who can help you take care of your child or sick parent especially when your work load is heavy. Since Moren’s husband works away from home, it is her niece or nephew who helps out with taking care of her baby or father at times.

“It’s important to remember that working remote does not mean also being the primary caregiver during those hours. Both your work and your quality time with your kids suffers when you are trying to accomplish both simultaneously,” says Moren.

 

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