Balancing your career and family life is tough enough on a 9-5 office job, but working from home full time with your kids at the next room can be a whole new challenge. Keeping your productivity at the maximum while still being able to attend to the kids' needs is a task that work-at-home parents go through everyday.

Finding the right balance between work and family is a constant struggle for many a home worker. But with a lot of patience and some trial and error, one may soon discover the right elements to successfully achieve that symbiotic relationship between work and kids.

Meanwhile, here are some tips to help you start manage your kids and work effectively at the same time.

• Work around your kids' schedules. If your kids are old enough to attend school, finishing up your work load during most part of the day is an easy task. But with younger kids, working can be a little tricky. If a project requires your utmost concentration, leave it for later when the child takes a nap or goes to sleep in the evening. In the meantime, look for a slightly lighter assignment on your work load.

• Allow them to enter and spend time in your office. Dedicate a nook for your child to make art, color or read. This way you can still spend time together and both of you can be productive. Chasing them away will only defeat your purpose of working at home to spend more time with your family.

• Talk to your kids about your decision to work from home and what it may mean. Help your children understand that although working from home means having more time to spend with each other, there are also deadlines to be met and sales to be made. Establish some ground rules regarding work time and family time. These boundaries, when practiced early on, will help develop a good balance in your home.

• Create a schedule for work and play and stick to it. For you to achieve maximum productivity, you may have to establish a work schedule and ask your family to respect your designated work time. This will help you to be committed and not give in to the tendency of taking unnecessary breaks to go to the kitchen or have long chats with the neighbor. Be sure to include an equal amount of time to spend with your child.

• Enforce limits when needed. Finding the right balance between work and kids may also mean setting limits to what the kids can and can't do. Tell them that your important documents are not scratch paper for doodling and that your desk is not a place for them to paint, and reinforce when necessary.

• A little help can go a long way. There will be times when you'll need an extra pair of hands to take care of the young ones. Your partner may have an appointment with the dentist or a PTA meeting to attend to, leaving you with the little one and a ton of work to boot. During these times, it helps to ask for help from a friend, neighbor or a baby sitter so you can work peacefully and be more productive.