As the pandemic continues to ebb and flow, gaining momentum some days and loosing steam some others; we live with the constant uncertainty that “life as we knew it” will never be the same. Enter remote work and school. For the past almost 2 years, working from home has become commonplace across the globe. We have pivoted, hopped onto meetings and kids have adapted to learning remotely as well. This has brought with it universal challenges such as choppy internet when everyone in the house is logged on, cats and preschoolers alike jumping into the meeting to showcase their talent etc etc. The easiest and most convenient default is having everyone in the home retreat to their own “workspace” which is usually bedrooms for the kids and teens.
Enter family work stations. These are places in the home that are set apart for work and technology use. What this does is 1.)accountability – there is a communal sense of “keeping the main thing the main thing” when one looks around and sees everyone is working. 2.)Safety – just like in the wild, there is safety in numbers. Especially for young kids and teens while online. When a child is online alone in their bedroom, the propensity to be lured by an online predator is higher as there is less of a safety net. It takes more work to have a conversation with an online predator while surrounded by family than it takes to have the same conversation in the confines of a dark secluded room. 3.) Mindless distraction – If you can cap the family work station time to a certain time. For example after 5pm the work station is “closed” – to allow for members to do other things offline – this gives a sense of urgency and boundaries as far being mindful of time spent online to complete assignments and tasks.
Although family work stations may not work for all families or even all individuals as some people work better alone (myself included); The idea is to curve out a public space even if a family member is “alone” or not surrounded at least they are within reach and eye view of the rest of the family team while using technology.