Working from Home with Children
When the local government chose to temporarily close the schools the first stumbling block was how we should deal with the situation. My partner also works part time, mostly the mornings during weekdays. We had our schedule arranged quite perfectly and therefore I was always able to work full-time. With the kids being home we had to rearrange our schedules, and all of a sudden my partner and I were not able to work the hours we used to work.
Another stumbling block was that with the family being at home, the amount of distractions grew and the temptation to do something different than work became quite noticeable. Distraction is, of course, always the greatest danger for an entrepreneur who works from home, but during a crisis that forces everyone to stay at home the level of distraction gets significantly higher.
Therefore, it is always important to stay disciplined and be as creative as possible with the time you have.”
What do you expect for the near future?
A big difference in the near future, for me as an entrepreneur working from home, is that once the schools reopen, there will be more stability in the daily schedules again.
The situation itself will probably not change very much short term as long as there are no tourists allowed on our island. A lot of companies on Bonaire are directly or indirectly dependent on tourism. Many companies are financially struggling and are choosing to wait and see what happens next.
Although I feel we have to stay positive and focus on the future, I also respect other’s situations and decisions. Not every company is the same, but we can now tackle the things that maybe cannot be handled in a regular situation. For example, with less business I now have time to complete projects that I had to put on hold in the past.
There will come a time when the tourism sector will start to get back on track and from that moment on business will get going again for sure, because people want to put their company back on the map. Till that time it’s a situation where everyone has to make do with what they have, where everyone should try to be creative with the time that they have, and convert the negative into something positive.