How our Lead Visual Designer, Sharon Lee Juggles Motherhood & Remote Working in LottieFiles

When a remote workforce is done right, no doubt there is space and flexibility to carve out a healthy work-life balance. But it's harder for working parents. They have an extra set of responsibilities to care for and manage their children, all while juggling their remote careers. 

For us at LottieFiles, many of our employees are in fact parents to young ones. Since the pandemic, we’ve been constantly improving our remote working culture to accommodate their time as both employees and parents. To get insight on how to juggle work and family, we spoke to our Lead Visual Designer, Sharon Lee about her remote work experience at LottieFiles while raising three children.

More bonding time with the kids

The opportunity to work remotely was something new to Sharon when entering LottieFiles, having previously worked in an office setting. Sharon admitted that she used to associate working in an office environment with better productivity. But after adapting to remote work culture, she realized that she can be productive while gaining precious time with her kids. 

“Being at home, I get to create a stronger bond with them. I get to see their progress and don’t miss out on their cute expressions,” she says. She even has more time to take the kids out to the playground during evenings when her workload is less. 

Starting on her own time

In LottieFiles, there is no set time for employees to clock in, making it ideal for parents to easily manage their kids in the morning. Being an early bird, Sharon gets some uninterrupted work time before her family starts their day. “I usually wake up at 5am to get work done as I get a lot of ideas and inspiration after a good night’s sleep. Then later at 7.15am, I send my daughter to school,” she explains. She even allows herself some ‘me time’ by grabbing breakfast before returning home. 

Waste less time in commutes

Sharon realized quickly that working from home cuts her time on the road where the traffic can get bad. “Instead of being stuck in traffic, I get the opportunity to spend valuable time at home with my kids,” says Sharon with a smile. She also saves time by being able to run errands during non-peak hours or while her kids are at school, allowing her an easy commute back to continue work.

Sharon’s tips to manage time as a working mother

Sign them up for fun classes or activities - “I put the kids in classes or other activities during school holidays so I can get a couple of hours where I can concentrate on work,” explains Sharon. Not only will you get some uninterrupted time, but your kids can also benefit from it too, especially if you put them on educational or sports activities.

Write down all your daily tasks - Putting down your to-do list makes it easy to prioritize your workload. Like Sharon, “I get inspired in the morning and like to write everything down to complete or follow up later in the day.”

For toddlers, give them fun tasks to keep them occupied - Sharon’s youngest can sometimes be seen during virtual meetings. She keeps the little one occupied with tasks like coloring and drawing while entertaining her from time to time. “Recently she likes to play pretend cooking where she cooks an imaginary recipe and feeds it to me,” says Sharon.

Sharon is one of the many examples of parents that thrive in a remote work environment, being able to be both a creative and a doting mother. We at LottieFiles, understand the importance of many parents nowadays striving for that balance and we try to create an understanding and empathetic workplace for them to excel. 

Do you have any working mother tips you want to share? Tell us in the comment below. Plus, follow us on Linkedin for more content on the people in LottieFiles and what we’re up to.