• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Bella Portaro Kueber Logo

Bella of Louisville

Live | Love | Louisville

  • Home
  • About
  • Life
    • Create
    • Dwell
    • Wander
  • Love
    • Celebrate
    • Evolve
    • Grow
  • Louisville
    • Culture
    • Humans
    • Food
  • Blog
  • Contact

Balancing this COVID Lifestyle

Life | 10.28.20

Even in ordinary times, many people struggle to balance work and family responsibilities. Parents often feel guilty if work prevents them from spending as much time with their children as they would like. And parents often struggle to keep up at work when they are drawn away by family obligations, like caring for a sick child or an aging relative.

These struggles have been amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic—even though the boundaries between work and home life were already blurring. For example, a Gallop poll of working adults in all 50 states showed that the number of days adults reported working from home doubled compared with before the pandemic, and one in four adults reported working entirely from home.

The majority of American children are still learning entirely remotely or are back in school in person only part of the time. For parents who are not able to work from home, having children schooling from home raises a whole different set of concerns about childcare.

Compounding the challenges of having work and education moved to the home is evidence published by the National Bureau of Economic Research this summer. A study of more than 3 million workers in 16 cities in North America, Europe, and the Middle East found that employees who are able to work from home are averaging 48.5 minutes more of work per day now than prior to the pandemic.

Add in the new requirements of being a chef, maid, teacher, and counselor. BRB, must go make something.

Anna May Photography

How can parents balance their conflicting and sometimes overwhelming responsibilities?

1. Try to set boundaries.

At the end of a day working from home, turn off the computer to reduce the temptation to keep checking email during family time. If space within the home allows, have a designated workplace, ideally with a door that closes, so family members know that work is in progress. The exact nature of these boundaries will depend on your own logistics, but the goal is to avoid feeling like you’re always working or that you can’t find uninterrupted time to work.

2. Prioritize self-care.

Parents experiencing higher levels of stress are more likely to behave inconsistently (e.g., threaten a consequence for misbehavior but not follow through) and treat their children harshly (e.g., yelling or spanking) than are parents with lower levels of stress. Making time for self-care in the form of exercise, socializing safely with friends, or engaging in hobbies that are relaxing and enjoyable is important for parents’ well-being, and, in turn, their children’s well-being.

It can be hard for parents to feel justified in making time for themselves when work and family obligations feel pressing, but self-care is important both for work performance and for family relationships.

3. Reshuffle family expectations.

Household labor can be renegotiated to fit changing circumstances. Even young children are able to help with simple household chores, such as feeding pets and setting the table. Older children and adolescents can take on even more responsibility, including preparing meals and doing laundry.

As long as these expectations are not excessive, contributing to the family’s well-being can be a source of pride for children and can give them beneficial life skills, not only in terms of household chores but also in terms of taking care of others’ needs.

4. Say no.

Be realistic about what can be accomplished on both the work and home fronts. Of course, it is impossible to say no to carrying out key work or family responsibilities, but it might be possible to say no to more peripheral requests.

5. Mobilize support networks.

Having social support is one of the best predictors of individuals’ well-being in the face of stress. Support can take the form of tangible tasks, like taking turns with a friend or neighbor supervising children’s remote learning, within health and safety guidelines. Support can also be emotional, such as simply sharing highs and lows with a trusted confidante.

Strategies for balancing work and family responsibilities have been important in the past and will continue to be important in the future. But they’re especially important now, when the pandemic has blurred our boundaries.

Jennifer E. Lansford, Ph.D. for Psychology Today

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

I’m a 30-something Louisville dweller and aficionado. As you browse around please note that you’re in the sanctuary of the space I call home where my writing is about life, love, and the city of Louisville. I’m honored to have you here. Thank you for visiting my space.

READ MORE

Let’s Connect

Reader Favorites

  • Calm is a super power! 
  • Life isn’t perfect, but your hair can be.
  • Trendy Topics for Social Media

Footer

✨ 𝓉𝑜𝓅 𝓃𝒾𝓃𝑒 ✨ Compared to ✨ 𝓉𝑜𝓅 𝓃𝒾𝓃𝑒 ✨ Compared to other years, 40 posts in 2020 is scarcity at its finest when compared to other years of me posting almost every day. The time away has allowed me to get through one of the darkest years, so many of us have faced. While I’ve historically turned to my keyboard as a release of hardships, I’ve been unusually reclusive as I’ve focused on a silent health challenge, family, friends, work, and school as a guiding light. ✨ 2020 was a year I never really wanted, but I learned much about myself and tapped on inner strength to push through. ✨ Therefore I must be grateful for the lessons I’ve learned. 🙏 2021, please be kind. The world and I need it. #thankunext #surviveandthrive #ciao2020 #topnine
✨ 𝓂𝓎 𝓌𝑜𝓇𝓁𝒹 ✨ “I can't h ✨ 𝓂𝓎 𝓌𝑜𝓇𝓁𝒹 ✨ “I can't hide. How I feel about you inside. I'd give everything up. If I could just have you, be mine. Be mine, baby.” 🎶 𝓂𝑔𝓀 💛 𝑜𝓃𝓁𝓎 62 𝒹𝒶𝓎𝓈 𝓉𝒾𝓁𝓁 𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝒻𝒾𝒻𝓉𝒽 𝒶𝓃𝓃𝒾𝓋𝑒𝓇𝓈𝒶𝓇𝓎 🥰 #foreveryours #mcmeveryday #herecomethekuebers #lovewins
🔥 𝓈𝓉𝓇𝑒𝓃𝑔𝓉𝒽 𝒾𝓈 𝓌𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝓌𝑒 𝑔𝒶𝒾𝓃 𝒻𝓇𝑜𝓂 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓂𝒶𝒹𝓃𝑒𝓈𝓈 𝓌𝑒 𝓈𝓊𝓇𝓋𝒾𝓋𝑒. 🔥 #fanyourownflame #putyourheaddownandwork #mentalfitness #bethelight
• 𝓂𝑜𝓇𝓃𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓌𝑜𝓇𝒹𝓈 • Today I choose to show up as the best “me” I can be, much like how the ocean shows us how to be. ☀️ The empowered me that battles my autoimmune diseases with radical approaches to heal all within me. 💪 The confident me. The me that handles both anything and everything the world tosses at me. 🌎 The me that faces the world with eyes of possibility, creativity, and solution. 🤩 The me with a heart full of hope and a head full of beautiful dreams. 🥰 The me that floods others with kindness and love. 🌊 The me that knows my strength is my best asset because it paves the way for all of my dreams, much like a powerful currant like the waters can be. 💛 The me that knows it will be okay. Because this life is much like water, it never stays the same as it ebbs and flows. It’s a mystical cycle that reminds us how small we are compared to the big picture of this journey called life. 🤗 How refreshing is that ocean breeze. • 𝓈𝒽𝒶𝓉𝓉𝑒𝓇𝑒𝒹 • #writersofinstagram #wanderer #transformationtuesday #bellaoflouisville ✨
{ 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒷𝒾𝓇𝓉𝒽𝒹𝒶𝓎 𝒸𝒽𝑒𝒸𝓀-𝒾𝓃 } It’s my birthday week, and while there is so much happening in our world that impacts each of us in a multitude of ways, there is still so much I’m grateful for. • I have a loving husband, kids, mom, extended family, and my fur babies. • I’m in remission with my autoimmune diseases. While I still have bad days, the good ones overshadow them. • I’m growing my career with education to continue chasing my dreams. • I have a loving roof over my head, cozy clothes on my back, and inner peace about things I cannot control. • It might not sound like much, but for me, life has given me more than I’ve ever prayed for. • I’ve “socially distanced” myself IRL and digitally with COVID to focus on family and my faith. I’m re-emerging into the world with a renewed sense of contentment and optimism. I’m ready to shed the 37-year-old shell to joyfully leap into 38 with all the hope I can muster. ✨ Cheers to this wild journey we call life! 🥃 #anotheryearwiser #cheers #celebrateeveryday
✨ 𝓁𝒾𝒻𝑒 𝑔𝑜𝑒𝓈 𝑜𝓃 ✨ ✨ 𝓁𝒾𝒻𝑒 𝑔𝑜𝑒𝓈 𝑜𝓃 ✨ I get by with a little help from my friends and mother nature. ☀️ #thankfulgratefulblessed to find solace and lots of laughter with great friends to push me through this week. 💛 #lifeiswhatyoumakeit #peacefulmindset #naturegram
Happy birthday, Ra-Ra! ✨ I felt the need to writ Happy birthday, Ra-Ra! ✨ I felt the need to write a strong caption, but how can I describe you or our friendship in a caption? I can’t. So much comes into my mind when I think of the growth we've both shared, witnessed, and supported. The world may keep us distanced, but you are in my mind and heart every day. LOVES YOU! 🎂🥂✨ #shewild #shefine #hurras
✨ 𝒸𝒽𝒶𝓁𝓁𝑒𝓃𝑔𝑒 𝒶𝒸𝒸𝑒𝓅𝓉𝑒𝒹 ✨ Thank you, @whitneyharding_ for the kind reminder of the strength I have within me to persevere through the next few weeks of treatments. 💛 This challenge couldn’t have come at a better time. Thank you. I miss you and love you so! ✨ #challengeaccepted #autoimmunewarrior #womenempowerment #womensupportingwomen
This error message is only visible to WordPress admins

Error: API requests are being delayed for this account. New posts will not be retrieved.

Log in as an administrator and view the Instagram Feed settings page for more details.

© 2021 Bella of Louisville. Designed + Developed by Jelly Design Studio.