My wife and son on the lawn of the Eiffel Tower.

Considering most of my clients are based in North America (where they can be anywhere between six and nine hours behind me), it makes the most sense to work at night when it’s easier to quickly hop on a call or exchange emails back and forth.

more guaranteed work time.

I’m sure you know that toddlers aren’t exactly known for their stellar sleep schedules. If I were a betting man, I’d put money on my son going to bed at about the same time every night long before I’d wager on when he’ll actually wake up. That’s why working at night allows me to maximize my time dedicated to writing: there’s less a chance of me missing out on much-needed work time.

work time often doubles as one-on-one time with my wife.

I’ll admit, that’s not the most romantic sentence I’ve ever written. But with both my wife and I working full-time while also raising a toddler, we often need to be able to multitask to get everything done. So, we usually pop open a bottle of wine and put on a podcast while we work at night. That way, we’re not just buried in our laptops for the few waking hours we spend each day without a toddler demanding we read One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish to him for the bagillionth time. Because, as I’m sure you’ll agree: little kids require a lot of attention. And that’s the basis for my next tip:

3. reserve mindless tasks for the most demanding times

Deep work should be all about accomplishing tasks where you need your undivided attention, which is why it’s not likely you’re going to get anything of major importance completed while your toddler is awake. But that doesn’t mean you can’t pluck away at some of the more menial tasks on your to-do list during waking hours. That’s what the 9:00 am to 12:00 pm block is reserved for on my calendar. I use that time to catch up on emails, handle administrative tasks, and work on some basic writing work like research or outlining.

Of course, blocking off time during the day to unplug and spend time with your kiddo is one of the big perks of working from home as a parent, so I’m not advocating you spend every moment your child is awake answering emails on your phone. But allow yourself some time to get through the necessary admin work in between playing hide-and-seek and going to the park.

4. save your secret weapon for moments of desperation

There’s going to come a time where you have an important conference call in five minutes but can’t get your little one to calm down long enough to break away and take the call. And in those moments, it’s always good to have an ace in the hole ready to go. You need a secret weapon absolutely guaranteed to distract long enough for you to take your call or complete final edits on an important deadline. For Owen, that secret weapon is Sesame Street. The Count stops him dead in his tracks. But for your son or daughter, it might be a sweet treat or a game or music. The point is, find the thing that puts your kid “in the zone” and use it sparingly - overuse means it loses its effect.

5. remember why you're working from home in the first place

Lastly, don’t lose sight of your motivation to be a work-from-home parent. If you’re like me, it’s all about spending more quality time with my son. And that means I make a conscious effort to be in the moment with him as much as possible. Do I have deadlines? Yes, of course. Am I more likely to regret missing an occasional deadline or missing the opportunity to take my son to the beach in Croatia? I think you know the answer. If I’m working and Owen brings me a book to read, I read it. If he wants me to chase him around and wrestle, I do it. It’s exactly those moments you dream about when cooped up in your cubicle at your corporate job. And it’s exactly those moments that make working from home with your toddler such a tremendous gift, even if it’s not always easy.

For additional reading on remote jobs, check out these pertinent articles:

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