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On-line resources for working from home with kids

Working from home with kids and your partner at home is challenging. We need to create a new routine. We need to be flexible. Work needs to be synchronised with your team and spouse, especially if they can also work from home. But how about kids? They need to carry on education. Children need to be entertained and taken care of. First of all – take it easy – try to agree with your partner when you can take care of children and when your spouse can spend time with them as you need to take this call or do something on your list for today. And secondly, make sure you get creative and prepare a routine for your kids and yourself. Below is the list of some online resources that can help to compile some activity lists for our little ones.

Be like a rose in my garden – never give up!

Once upon the time we had a beautiful, old rose in the garden.
She was one of those old breeds that British folks are very proud of. She had a fantastic fragrance. Her flowers were large and beautiful, she was proudly showing them off over other flowers in our garden.

First aid for work from home

Piotr Zagorowski
March 19, 2020December 7, 2023
Leadership, Remote work

Working from home for the first time may and will feel awkward. We used to go to the train station, get our morning coffee on the way, read the newspaper or listen to our favourite podcast. It’s been taken away. We open our laptop and work is supposed to flow. However, even getting to sit in from of laptop seems difficult, there is no buffer and preparation time. In theory, we have more time, but on the other head we feel like time is shrinking. We even struggle to keep up on what day is today. Is there any first aid for work from home situation? There are many good resources in the webs, I am going to share what is essential for me. Check it out, experiment and see if something work for you.

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F**k

Piotr Zagorowski
March 12, 2020November 29, 2023
Intentional life, Relationship

We were in the middle of planned network maintenance. It was not going well. The change window was just about to end. We were fighting with some unexpected issues causing service degradation. I needed to make a tough call. Either extend the maintenance window and carry on working on Sunday evening or try to fix as much stuff as we could and regroup with the rest of my team on Monday. I called my boss, but he was abroad. Other folks from management were not picking up phones.

I was on my own. I decided to instruct my engineer to roll back, stabilise the network and get some rest. We would pick up things tomorrow. I was trying to cool down after huge stress when my wife informed me, we would need to go to hospital as my newborn son was having severe allergy symptoms. Following 24 hours was a painful lesson of the subtle art of not giving a f**k to nonessential things in life.

Time management is a myth – it’s all about choices

Piotr Zagorowski
February 27, 2020April 5, 2023
Leadership

Very first thing you will notice as a new manager will be that you run out of time in a day. If you search interwebs for a term “time management”, you will quickly find thousands of tips on how to help you to manage your time more effectively. They are all wrong. You can’t manage time. It’s all about you, your choices, and how you can manage you in time. Is time management is a myth? Let’s find out!

Being busy is a choice. I think that busy is a decision. We do the things we want to do, period. If we say we are too busy, it is shorthand for “not important enough.”
Simply put: you don’t find the time to do something; you make the time to do things.
Debbie Millman

Do you consider stepping into a people leader role?

Piotr Zagorowski
February 20, 2020February 15, 2022
2 Comments
Leadership

Here you are, thinking to step up and applying for a new role. You want to lead people. Maybe you’re already a natural leader. You discovered the power of synergy, you found that helping others to achieve bigger goals is so satisfying. You are ready. It is excellent and probably in every industry, there is in need for good people leaders. In the end, it is the same experience as parents have when they help their kids to grow: unparalleled satisfaction, sense of accomplishment and legacy that every one of us wants to leave behind ourselves. Similarly to parenting, becoming a manager comes with a full package. Some things are not so glamorous, will make you occasionally frustrated and will test your decision of becoming the people leader almost every day.

How to stay fit when working remotely – be minimalistic but consistent

Piotr Zagorowski
February 13, 2020December 7, 2023
Leadership, Remote work

We all have plenty of things to do every day. We need to work, and we want to cultivate our hobbies. Our families and friends require a quality time from us. It is interesting for those lucky ones who can work remotely. In theory, we have more time. Reality is – there are too many things to do every day. Unfortunately, staying fit is usually the first thing we give up when we try to decide on how to divide our precious time. The results could be fatal, so the question of how to stay fit when working remotely should be essential.

How to conquer your fears - are kids completely fearless?

How to be brave and conquer your own fears?

Piotr Zagorowski
February 6, 2020February 21, 2022
Leadership

Do you know what the opposite of love is? Most people’s answer would be “hate” or “dislike”. The truth, however, is that the opposite of love is fear. If we fear someone, we will not be able to love this person. If we are afraid of something, it will consume all our energy and drain our thoughts towards the subject of our fears. In extreme cases, it will prevent us from thinking about anything else. It will paralyse our ability to move forward, loving other people or, in severe cases, live our lives to the full. Can we learn how to conquer our fears?

Leadership lessons we can learn from children

Piotr Zagorowski
January 30, 2020May 8, 2020
Leadership

My younger daughter, who was “just” born, will start school this calendar year. I’ve been recently pondering on the fact that our kids grow fast. They don’t only grow but also learn a lot. However, we – parents – also grow with them. Every member of the family, despite the age, level of growth and development, they always give something to others. What parents and leaders can learn from children?

Are you ready for power outage while you work from home?

Piotr Zagorowski
January 18, 2020December 6, 2023
Leadership, Remote work, Technology

It was during my one-on-one meeting with one of my engineers when the external screen went black. Then I realised I lost the audio too. I was already blaming technology, clicking various things on my laptop, when I spotted that more things were off. It was a power blackout in my home office. Obviously, my laptop was still working thanks to the battery, so it took me a while to realise nothing else worked. Work from home and power outage. What a combo!

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