Working from home whilst taking care of children: top tips to make it work

When my husband and I became parents three years ago, we made the decision to keep our children at home with us whilst we continued to each develop our businesses. There was never a question that either of us would give up work yet we felt it was important for us to be as present as possible for our children in their growing up years.

We have found a way to have a 35–40 hour work week whilst still being as present as possible for our kids.

For all those struggling to figure out how to make it work during the current crisis, I offer my tips on what works for us:

· Divide and conquer. We divide our day into ‘shifts’, where each parent is responsible for both children at any one time. We find this far more effective than us both trying to work whilst the children are playing around us. The parent who is working is strictly away in their office and must not be involved. We send each other text messages if we need anything and only knock on the office door if absolutely necessary.

· Keep to a strict schedule — and stay disciplined! We have carefully designed our day to maximise nap times, waking up times and the needs of the family more broadly. We have noticed that when we fail…