Plan ahead
We don’t mean heading to your nearest salt bin to stock up (although we recommend that too!). But if you know snow is due, check the forecast to see when the worst weather is arriving. Make sure that your diary is void of urgent meetings far away from home if you can help it. The weathermen have a habit of getting these things wrong so even if you put clients or team members on standby, to plan for a school snow day is better than no plan at all.
Family & friends
If you have family, friends, neighbours or fellow parents from school nearby then drop them a message or have a chat about their plans. Could they help you on a snow day? Offer to help out in return or offer a playdate for another time to give them a break.
Manage expectations
If clients could be impacted too, drop them a note to see if there is anything you need to know about or help with. Equally, if you know the snow is likely to stick around, make sure they are clear on any impacts to projects or deadlines you are working towards so that you manage their expectations.
Stay focused
If you have a magic window of time to get some work done, stay focused! Be clear on what your top priorities are and tackle those first. Everything else can wait until you have more time or more backup. Don’t get sucked into your email or start checking social media to look at everyone else’s snow pics!
Keep them entertained
When your children are done making snowmen or sledging, it is worth having some indoor activities up your sleeve to help keep them entertained. Here are just a few ideas and the amount of time it might help create if you need to work:
- Movie Time – Close the curtains, make some tickets, open up a bag of popcorn and stick on a movie = 2 hours
- Play Office – Set your children up with a little desk next to yours and set them a lesson (anything from colouring to writing a story about the snow) = 45 minutes
- Playdate – Just remember to return the favour when you can! = 90 minutes +
- Craft – Check out Pinterest for ideas, raid your craft box and ask them to create something winter related! = 30 minutes
- Get Active – Cosmic Kids Yoga YouTube videos are great, give the Frozen movie routine a try! = 30 minutes
Get outside
As much as it can be stressful for all your work plans to go out of the window, try and make the best of the situation. Make time to build a snowman or get outside in the snow for a while, you can always catch up a little when everyone comes in to warm up. And remember, it is likely that lots of other people will be in the same boat too so be understanding, and hope that they do the same in return.
Need help to manage your workload?
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