Having a full-time job while juggling the responsibilities of being a parent can lead to a lot of stress. It’s hard to strike a balance between your work and family life without potentially affecting one or the other. But sometimes, we need to learn how to take a step back and learn how to create a proper work-life balance.
An organization is key.
You have to be organised with your time, both at work and at home otherwise, you’ll find that you have too much to do and not enough time to do it. This means knowing what you’re doing every day of the week and prioritising certain activities over others.
Leave your work in the office
We all want to excel at our jobs, but this doesn’t mean overworking yourself – especially when you don’t have to. When I was a teacher, I used to bring test papers and worksheets home to mark, but I soon realised that this ate into my personal and family time.
Be present in your kids’ lives
Kids grow up really fast, so it’s important to be there for them every step of the way. Make it a point to listen – really listen – to your kids when they want to talk to you, and to find out what’s going on in their lives, who their friends are, what their teachers are like, and so on.
Ask for help at home if you need it
Too many of us try to be “superwomen” – we want to be there for our spouse and kids, be the perfect boss or employee, and be a domestic goddess, all at the same time. But that’s just not possible. If you try to be everything to everyone, you’re the one who’s going to burn out in the end. So, just do what you can and if you can outsource some of the work to someone, by all means, do it.
Most of us have helpers these days, but if you don’t, it might be a good idea to hire someone to come in once or twice a week to do the most time-consuming household chores for you. Or, if your kids are old enough, involve them in the housework and cooking. It’ll take some of the burdens off of you so that you can manage your time a little better.
Take time out for yourself
If you want to be effective at home and at work, you must first take care of you. This means managing your time wisely, knowing when to say no – or yes, and knowing when to slow down or stop.
How about you? Tell us about your tricks on how to survive to be an employee and a parent in a breeze!
