Like many Hawaii families, my ohana had to learn to cope with the dynamics of working and learning remotely from our home. For going on two months now, my wife and I have been working full time while our 9- and 12-year-old sons attend online classes, all within our two-bedroom condominium.
As a project manager, I asked myself, What makes this new scenario challenging from a management and technology point of view?
Such challenges are:
>> Adapting to a new routine of having four human beings confined in a condo for nearly 24 hours a day with the exception of our daily walk excursion or crucial grocery run.
>> Internet connectivity for work and school.
Here in Hawaii, many of us have smaller homes with no spare room to use as an office, and some residences might not have access to fiber-based network services.
For us, utilizing our small home as an all-in-one work/school/home/life environment bubble without the ability to burn up to 10 hours of energy outside of the home was taking a toll on both mind and body. We also quickly learned that the four of us using remote tools like WebEx, Zoom and media streaming services simultaneously was taxing our internet connectivity to its limits. As this sometimes negatively affected our access to these remote resources, we reached out to our service provider. After some troubleshooting, they sent us a new, updated modem, which seems to have resolved these problems.
We had to make a lifestyle change in order to make our new life work. Here are some resolves for our efficient completion of daily work life and school life at home:
>> Adapting a productive perspective
>> Having the necessary tools
>> Discipline
>> Adhering to a schedule
With our new routine, we must maintain a productive perspective to make life at home both efficient and enjoyable. Having the necessary tools contributes to this efficiency. My wife and I work at opposite ends of our dining table, and we both execute our workdays with the respect of minimizing interruptions to each other’s activities. This starts with verifying that we have functional laptops, network printer and Wi-Fi. When privacy is required for videoconferences, one of us sometimes goes into the bathroom where the shower curtain makes a nice backdrop.
Our sons attend school via laptops in their bedroom. Over time we have taught them to organize their schoolwork via iPads, email folders and school category-based apps and task completion checklists. We prepare them for video classrooms by checking their schedules the previous night and having them log in 10-15 minutes early in order to address any connectivity problems they might encounter without affecting their attendance.
The discipline of maintaining this productive routine is met by adhering to a schedule that nearly mirrors that of our previous life. We wake up early, shower, dress and eat breakfast prior to beginning the “home” work/school day, followed by dedicated school curriculum attendance and professional work agenda completion. This new productive perspective combined with the use of remote tools, discipline and adherence to a schedule results in less stress and more quality family time together.
A note about discipline: Games and TV are strictly off-limits until work is done. No exceptions. Homework comes first, chores are second and playtime is third. If incentives are needed, they may be offered occasionally in the form of treats (candy, chips and ice cream are favorites) and additional outdoor playtime to ride bikes or Segway. The added incentive of a call to their school to discuss failing grades is also on the list.
We know we are fortunate to have the option to work from home. The same applies to the diligence of our sons’ school, which has organized a plan to remotely teach them via web-based tools and curricula. Now that we’ve found a path to success with all of us working and learning at home, we’re able to live productively and relatively peacefully in this new normal.
Joseph Ingram is a senior project manager — service delivery for CBTS/Hawaiian Telcom. Reach him at joseph.ingram@cbts.com.
