One of the advantages of working in an office is that you are all adults (at least when it comes to age) sharing a common space and following office rules. You might have the occasional cigarette breaks and chats about weekend plans interrupting your work but in general, when you signal that you are busy and can’t talk, coworkers know that it is not a good time for a friendly chit-chat.
Working from home, on the other hand, is a completely different story, especially if you have children at home with you. Because of the pandemic, many of us had to shift from office life to work from home life. Unlike your adult coworkers, children are not that well-acquainted with the “I’m busy, can’t talk right now” signals. Nor do they care, for that matter. They’ll jump around, sing, talk during your Skype meeting, play on your laptop, bang on your door, whine, sulk and everything in between. After all, when you’re at home, you should give them and only them, your undivided attention, not waste your time with some insignificant people like your boss or work colleagues.
So, what can you do to cope with interrupting kids and still get some things done for work? First, you need to understand how constant interruptions can affect your work performance and the reason they are so disrupting.
