Gearing Up For a Return to the Office? Here's How to Prep the Whole Family

Eliminating the commute portion of the workday frees up some space to make (or at least think about . . . ) what's for dinner. Once you're headed back into the office, planning and prepping the week's meals in advance can be a huge time and stress saver.

Meal delivery kits and grocery delivery services (like FreshDirect or Amazon Fresh) will also free up some time and headspace.

If parenting responsibilities like school drop-offs, homework help, or a baby's feeding schedule are about to change ownership to another parent or child-care provider, give the new routine a dry run before your new work schedule starts. This will ensure that all the details are covered and will likely elicit a different set of questions from the new "adult in charge" than simply trying to explain it would.

In some workplaces, a day or two in the office is all that's expected when it comes to a return to "normal." If this isn't already the case for your employer, consider asking for a transitional phase where you'd ramp up to a Monday-Friday schedule rather than jumping all in at once. This will make the process feel less overwhelming to you and less daunting for kids who may be anxious about the change in their home lives.

Whether you have toddlers or teens at home, give them some advance notice of a change in routine. Discuss how the changes will impact them, and reassure your kids that their needs will be taken care of. Address any concerns they may have, and reassure them that this is a good thing — a step toward normalcy.

Depending on your child or children's age(s) and how long the workday is, you may want to establish a regular check-in time. It may be a text or phone call after lunch or at the end of the school day. But try not to micromanage the adult in charge or hover over details that you can't control from your workplace. Trust that they've got it covered (and if not, you'll hear about it!), and save the quality time together for the end of the day.