7 Steps to Setting Up A Successful Distance Learning Workstation
The new school year is rapidly approaching, and for many families, it's looking a lot different than in previous years. With most schools in California starting the year with Distance Learning rather than in the classroom, now is the time to get your child's workspace set up for success. And for those of you working from home (WFH), these same principles can be applied!
1. Evaluate what was working well in the spring, and what wasn't.
First things first: make a list of things that were working well during distance learning in the spring, and things that weren't. Use that knowledge to guide you in how you set up the workstations. Ask your child for their input and participation in this too! The more involvement your child has in establishing a workstation, the more invested they will be in utilizing it and maintaining it.
2. Evaluate your workspace options.
Where does your child work best? Does she like to be where the action is, like the dining table? Or do they prefer a quiet space away from others, like in their bedroom? Ask them where they would like to work, and why. Jot down the top three options, and together with your child, come up with the pros and cons of working in each space. No space will be perfect, so when you see the pros and cons in front of you, it's much easier to troubleshoot and find solutions for issues that may come up with the spaces.
3. Optimize your Space
Once you've decided on where your workspace will be set up, optimize it to fit your space and your home life. For example, does the dining table seem like it will work best because of available space or it's central location, but there are concerns about distractions or children arguing? Try putting up a collapsible partition similar to this one during school hours, that can easily be stored nearby when it's time to eat at the table. Also, noise cancelling headphones are a magical thing.
4. Curate your supplies, and make it portable.
Gather basic school supplies like pencils, pens, crayons, markers, glue sticks, scissors, and other high-use items, and store them in in a portable caddy. This way your child doesn't have to go searching for them when they are needed, or bother you to help find the markers while you are trying to work from home. I love the portability of a caddy because it makes it easy to pickup and work from the couch or patio if your child needs a change of scenery, or if the primary workspace needs to transition back to being utilized as a dining table, for example.
5. Establish a place for in-progress papers.
This one is important! In progress papers are prime culprits for desktop clutter, and clutter can cause overwhelm. Ask your child where they kept in-progress papers at school, and see if it makes sense to try to replicate something close to that at home.
Something as simple as a folder or a paper tray or basket can serve as a home for papers, to keep them from piling up on your surfaces, and is easily movable to make it easy to transition the workspace surface back to another purpose if needed. When my husband used to work from the dining table, we had a basket where he (and honestly, a lot of times it was me) would put his in-progress papers when it was time to eat. This way they were out of the way, and he knew exactly where to find them when he needed them next.
6. Establish a Cleanup Routine
At the end of the school day, take a few minutes with your child (or they can do it on their own, if they are older) to get things back in place. Ask them what their routine at school was for cleanup, and see if it makes sense to do something similar at home. It can be as simple as putting the supplies back in the caddy and all in-progress work in the basket. This way they can sit down to a clear desk in the next morning, and easily be able to find the things they need.
7. Reevaluate
Live with the setup and new routines for a couple weeks, and then pause to ask yourself and your child what's working and what's not. Keep what's working, and make changes to what's not. Bit by bit it will get easier. And if you need some help setting up or fine-tuning your workspace, reach out and let's set up a virtual organizing session!
Working and schooling from home is new territory for a lot of us, and you may not get it running as smoothly as you'd like on the first try. And that's perfectly ok. We are all just trying to figure this out new normal.
If you're ready to pare down and get organized, or need some help setting up your work or school space, reach out and let's set up a Virtual Organizing session! I'm here to help!
-Sarah Holden, Owner
Room Service Home Organizing LLC
roomserviceorganizing.com