Whether you’ve always worked from home, or it’s a new concept for you this year, you’ve learned that there are benefits and drawbacks to organizing your life this way. For those of you with kids, you now face an additional challenge: Remote learning means sharing the work space and bandwidth at home with the entire family.
When the entire household is Zooming, video chatting, or streaming videos at once, problems with internet speed can frustrate everyone. Tempers can flare when everyone is cooped up in the house together, day blurs into night, and who is responsible for all those messes in the kitchen?
With this in mind, Parlay Café is now offering half-priced day passes for students. A day pass to our Members Lounge is normally $20, but students showing a valid and current student ID can get one for half price ($10). Masks are required, and it’s not for “hanging out”, but rather for studying.
Of course, parents can choose to leave the kids at home and come to Parlay themselves instead!
Here are some other tips to keep in mind as the “online” school year gets underway…
Organize your schedule. Working and schooling from home sounded like a dream come true a year ago. Now, you’re learning that it can quickly become a confusing mess. Decide upon a schedule that works for everyone and insist that everyone sticks to it. Get dressed in the morning, just as you’re all going to work and school outside the home.
Establish meal times and clear rules about responsibility for messes (just as you would in a communal “break room” at an office). If office space or devices will be shared, decide who is using what and when they will be using it. Post the schedule in a prominent place in the home.
Invest in the right tools. Cut back on competing noises by investing in good quality headphones with a microphone if needed (not ear buds, which kids tend to break in record time).
Everyone should have their own device, such as a laptop, if at all possible. Backup batteries come in handy when you’re working from outside the home, and handy messenger bags or backpacks keep everything together.
Take breaks. Working from home doesn’t mean you must literally stay at home all the time. You will find that productivity soars when you venture out into a new environment, such as our convenient work spaces at Parlay Cafe. We have plenty of WiFi bandwidth for everyone, along with fresh coffee to fuel the work or school day.
Send your students to our Members Lounge to get their work done, come in to get your own work done, or both! You can all benefit from a refreshing change of pace.
Don Mastrangelo
Owner, Parlay Café