Balancing Work and Family Life
Balancing work and family commitments is a constant challenge.
How do you know you’re giving enough to one whilst trying to make time for the other, not to mention making time for yourself?
It is a daily cycle that relies on the quality of your ongoing self reflection, habits, systems and strategies.
A few tips to help...
Know your priorities. Use a time log to know what you do and time management matrix to see if it matters.
Get better at managing your time management in the workplace on a daily basis.
How good are you at managing interruptions and distractions at work? Every minute wasted affects you and your family.
Mind your language. What we choose to say to ourselves affects what we believe and how we behave.
Have family goals that you set, share and look forward to together.
Plan, schedule and run routines. Create order out of chaos, but break things up once in a while.
Use a planner. A bit of an obvious one; but it’s how daily planners are used that counts.
Plan meals together. First thing in the morning or when you get back from work -- is there a better time to talk than at the table?
Make dates. Commit to regular dates as a family, with your partner and with each of your children.
Talk. To other people in similar situations -- how do they do it? How could you help them?
Set limits. Establish boundaries on as many commitments and activities as possible -- they force you to be effective.
Teach your children to use their time well. Have teenagers? better time management for teens will benefit all of you.
Write each of your children a hand written letter. If you do just one thing towards a better work life balance, make it this. You’ll be glad you did.
... and a few things to remember
Your children are a 20 year plus 'project'; but they’re this age just once.
When your children leave home, they’re a long time gone -- but there will always be more work to do.
No one looked ever looked back at their life and said, 'I wish I’d spent more time at work’.
Go with the flow. Sometimes even the best laid plans don't work out. Family life can be messy and unpredictable -- it's okay to accept it.
Balancing work and family life is about evolving and re-balancing. There is no endpoint -- it’s ongoing.
As far as possible, keep and do work at work, then live at home. Keep asking yourself ‘what will happen if I don’t do this?’.
It’s not all about balancing work and family. You need to look after yourself, too. Your well-being is their benefit.
You’re a human being, not a human doing.
People are unpredictable, situations change and nothing really stays the same for long. So keep prioritizing, practising and positve, because when the balance goes, and it will, you'll be re-balancing work and family life.
Do you need to get a better balance in your life?
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Time Management Success
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