Many of us face a new style of office sharing and no it isn’t with fellow office mates, it’s with your spouse, your children, and your pets. While social and workplace norms are shifting to a work from home and learn from the home culture you need to figure out how to accommodate everyone without compromising your other living spaces and your sanity.

Even if you are lucky enough to have a dedicated home office chances are you are sharing it. To ease the stress of co-working with all age groups here are a couple of tips and inspirations from personal experience, because, yes even I share my office with a 7 and 4-year-old these days.

Tip #1: Carve out your own storage space.

Dedicate one section or area per individual where their personal paperwork etc. will be stored. This will help ease the confusion of missing documents and items ‘walking away’ on you.

Tip #2: Ensure everyone has a comfy seat to sit at.

Wither you are sharing with a child, dog, or adult everyone deserves a comfy seat. The better the seating situation the more efficiently everyone can work.

Tip #3; Equally Share the work surface.

This is a tough one pending on the amount of paperwork and elbow room required, however, try your best. Consider placing a child-size table in the room for the smaller folk or running a countertop from end to end in the room. If you are working at a countertop table or counter, consider buying a bar height kids chair for your mini co-worker.

Tip #4: Everyone deserves to see.

One of the most overlooked aspects of a workspace is adequate lighting. Make sure that everyone’s space has adequate adjustable lighting. There is no harm in adding a couple of task lights to everyone’s ‘zone’. Also, be conscious of screen glare as not only do people need to add light but they may also need to block light.

Tip #5: Weekly clean.

Just like a real office items can stack up from dirty coffee mugs to scrap paper. Try to ensure every day or week there is a dedicated 10-minute window where everyone does a quick audit/clean of their space. Yes, kids need to do their own spaces too! (Just maybe not ‘Spot’ the dog.)

I have a tray that sits on the work surface that everyone places their cups and snack containers on. It makes it easy for us to then take them all to the kitchen when we are done and helps prevent the dreaded coffee mug pile up.

Tip #6: Don’t forget the environment.

We all try to live paperless but it’s not always possible. Dedicate a bin or basket for recycling because lets be honest no one pauses what they’re doing to run to the main recycling bin especially if it’s on another floor.

Another component of the environment is noise control. I highly recommend getting everyone who is plugged into electronics a pair of headphones, even the kiddos. Why? Because not all computer work is silent (Zoom/Skype etc.) and not everyone agrees on the same music.

Tip #7: Everyone Works Differently

Remember we all learn, grow, and work differently. This means that one person might covet a whiteboard while the other a laptop or a box of markers. Embrace everyone’s needs (not all the wants) to design a functional space for all.

Tip #8: Enjoy

Not all of us are able to have an opportunity to work from home and be so close to family during these times so don’t forget to enjoy the moment and the little silver linings as they appear.

The New Workplace: Tips For Sharing Your Office With Family