Get Business and Family Back to School Ready

Getting the kids ready to go back to school is always a little bittersweet. But this year? It feels more like a punch to the gut. Yes, an entrepreneur parent always feels a sense of relief when their children are happy in school and they can truly focus on their work. But the pandemic has created so much anxiety that the benefits of this time of year are being outweighed – or at least weighed down – by other, more unpleasant factors. Here’s how I’m learning to navigate this time, in the hopes it helps you too. 

Control What You Can

For many of us, a primary underlying fear is our kids getting sick. Even though COVID-19 is generally milder in children, it’s still something none of us want our little prides and joys to go through. Adding to this is the stress of divisiveness among us. People are aligning themselves with one camp or another, and consequently feeling anger and a loss of control. 

Here’s an example. Right now, mask-wearing is optional in schools in Arizona. If you’re pro-masks in school, you might be upset that other people are sending their kids without them. But here’s what I’m learning to embrace: I can’t control what other people do and neither can you. We know this logically, but every time an emotionally charged issue arises, it’s the first thing to go out the window. 

So, I encourage you to keep coming back to what you can control. You set the rules for yourself and your children. Make the right decisions for you, and then try your best to let the rest go. 

Everything is Connected

Prior to the pandemic, you’d hear business owners say things like, “I’m productive because I compartmentalize my personal life and my professional life.” Of course, to some extent, we all need to do this. You can’t be scrolling through Instagram while in a board meeting, or you’ll miss everything your board members are saying. But, the idea of complete compartmentalization is actually pretty flawed. 

When you’re at work, you’re not with your kids. But you’re still a father or a mother. When you’re at home, you may not be actively working on a new client proposal, but you’re still a business owner. To pretend there’s no overlap, or that you can self-discipline the overlap away, is to ignore the holistic nature of being human. 

So, with this in mind, recognize how the stress of sending your kids back to school may be affecting you on a variety of levels. How is it impacting your emotions? Is the anxiety you’re feeling producing physiological effects? How is it slithering its way into your business? What can you do about that? The more attuned you are to your own feelings, and the way in which every part of your life is connected to every other part, the faster you’ll be able to find solutions. 

For example, maybe you’re anticipating the worry you’ll feel about how your kids will adapt to being back in-person at school. Instead of suppressing this, acknowledge it. When you get to the office after dropping them off, close your door and try a short meditation to soothe your nerves, or make a cup of chamomile tea. This can help integrate your feelings, and get you better positioned to be present – right where you are.  

Prepare for Different Outcomes

Finally, one of the other stressful components of our kids going back to school is the looming threat of possibly having to go back to online learning. Whether it might be the result of a COVID-19 exposure in the classroom that forces your child (and your whole family!) to quarantine at home for a period of time, or an all-out outbreak in your school that causes a temporary closure, this is a concern most parents share. Juggling work and parenting is hard enough without having to do both from home at the same time, while also playing teacher. 

But again, you can’t predict what will happen in the future – and you also can’t control it. All you can do is make sure you’re in the best position possible for a number of scenarios. Make sure all your important files are accessible in the cloud, and all of your papers are organized. Check that you have a decent device for your child to use at home, should they need it for distance learning, and school supplies. Consider what else you’d need at home in order to transition to working from there, if you have to again, like a good virtual meeting setup with proper lighting and audio/visual equipment. Talk with your team to come up with backup plans, should anyone in your office have to go remote for a period of time. 

We’ve all been there before, so preparing for these possibilities shouldn’t be too difficult this time around. If you do, you’ll be in a much calmer place to deal with whatever comes next. If in-person school goes off without a hitch, great! You’re set up to keep working at the office. But if your child has to stay home for a few days or a couple of weeks (or more), you’re ready to make your home your office again with less drama and frustration.

Nothing about the pandemic has been ideal; in fact, it’s been entirely the opposite. But if we take back our power and do all we can to help ourselves and our families, we’ll get through this back-to-school season (and beyond) much more easily. 

I’d love to hear from you and find out how you’re coping with the challenges of being an entrepreneur parent during this time. Wishing you all the best.