How to Balance Remote Work and Newborn Care After Parental Leave

Tips for New Dads

Sep 29, 2024

Hello Everyone!

If you’ve been following my newsletter, you’d know that I became a dad just about a month ago.

Here in Sweden, my wife and I are entitled to 480 days of paid parental leave (YEAP…..CANT COMPLAIN!) in total. We can claim these days until the day our child turns 8, I think.

For now, my wife is taking time off until the middle of next year. I, on the other hand, have only taken a few weeks of parental leave, for now, and so, back to work I go!

I work almost entirely remote and, as a new father, transitioning back to remote work has been one hell of a transition :p.

It’s been exciting to welcome a baby into the world but this excitement is met with the practical reality of juggling work with newborn care.

In this piece, I’m going over how I intend to navigate this new phase in my life and stay productive, while still being there for my family.

Setting Clear (well…as clear as possible :p) Boundaries Between Work and Family

Setting boundaries is a huge challenge in this new reality. During my parental leave, the priorities were laid out for me because everything revolved around the baby. Now, however, I need to separate work and family as much as possible.

I’ve set up a designated workspace, away from the baby activities which, somewhat helps. I don’t live in a mansion, though, so making this work will still be a challenge but hey…we can’t have it all, right?.

I am also thinking of setting “office hours” that I communicate with my wife but my work has ad-hoc elements as well so this will also be a challenge. However, keeping this as an ambition might still help with planning stuff around baby duties. Let’s see how this goes!

Managing Distractions and Staying Focused

Distractions are inevitable in this new reality. Whether it’s stepping away for a quick cuddle or the sound of a crying baby, staying focused isn’t easy.

I have no idea how to go about this to be honest but I have to say that my noise-canceling headphones have become my best friend. They help with drowning out all the household noise and allow me to focus on important work meetings without getting sidetracked.

Being Realistic About Workload

As with any other job I guess, deadlines and targets are very important at my work. I have, however, had to adjust my expectations now and to make sure that, before I commit to a deadline, I ask myself if I might be overpromising in some way, shape or form.

The long and short of it is that trying to maintain the level of productivity I had before the baby isn’t going to be realistic now, and that’s fine. I guess I’ll do my best but I also need to accept that I may need to rely more on my colleagues for support.

Embracing Flexibility

With fatherhood, flexibility is essential. Babies don’t run on a set routine, and neither does remote work. I’m trying to embrace this reality by allowing some flexibility in my workday. For instance, if the baby needs more attention on a given morning, I try to make up for it during a quieter period later on in the day.

This new journey of balancing remote work with a newborn won’t be an easy one. I guess I can plan all I want but I will still need to be prepared for ad-hoc, unplanned events on a regular basis.

Let’s see how this goes!