One of the most anxiety-inducing things about being a parent is when you have to take important calls and meetings. Everybody has had those moments now where a child is walked in on a very important meeting, and in that split-second alone, you’ve had to either embrace the situation or tell the child to step away, which can show your potential clients a new side of you (one that you don’t necessarily want them to see). We want people to see us as professionals, and when a child comes into frame, literally and figuratively, it can prove difficult to say the least. What can we do to evoke a professional image, while still being a good parent?
Work With the People That Understand Your Situation
The fact is that, whether we are liaising with an SEO company or a digital agency, we need to be professional, but a lot of forward-thinking organisations are more than aware of the trials and tribulations of working at home. If you have been working at home prior to the pandemic, you may have felt that you had to present this perfect image all the time. However, you must remember that now more people are aware of getting the balance just right. But if there are people who are still somewhat stuffy about the fact that you have children, you have got to find people that align with your own attitudes.
Choosing the Right Times for Meetings
As we know our children better than anybody, we may try to muddle through, but if we are lucky enough that our children have naps during the day, this is the ideal time to schedule a meeting. Of course, this leaves you in a very difficult predicament because your child might wake up! However, if you are working with a client on the other side of the world, you’ve got a far better opportunity to schedule a meeting when there are more hands on deck. You should also think about having pre-meetings rather than just having to iron everything out during the course of the meeting. These days people have “meetings about meetings,” and people can talk to the ends of the earth. If you want to have a very effective meeting, you’ve got to go in prepared. Highlight the points you want to talk about, and say nothing more.
You Can Get a Lot Done With Your Phone
One of the biggest mistakes we all make as working parents is thinking you have to be glued to your laptop. But there are so many things we can achieve with our phone. If you are trying to edit documents on the go, now you can easily install Google Docs, and if you are stuck in a meeting, one where you have to take a lot of information on board, you can use your phone to record the meeting.
When we are trying to be effective parents, and be strong-willed professionals, we’ve got to work smart rather than hard.
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