Maintaining a healthy work-life balance

 

Today, parents are finding it increasingly more difficult to maintain a proper balance between work and their families. Having a stressful and demanding job can wear out even the most dedicated parent, leaving them emotionally and physically drained. This means they are often unable to cater to their families’ demands. A constant series of early mornings and late evenings will eventually take their toll on the marriage and children.

 

However, making a few key adjustments in your daily routine and lifestyle can help to free up valuable time for the family. Here are some tips on how to create a healthy work-life balance:

 

Prioritize – Getting priorities right is the first step towards successfully managing work and a family. Parents should figure out what is most important in their lives, family and children and focus on spending more time with them. Prioritization of tasks in the office can enable parents to complete their work in a timelier manner, making it possible to get home early.

 

Operate a simpler schedule – It is important to find your own personal balance. Eliminating unnecessary chores, commitments and other demands can help to create more time to focus on children’s needs. It is also helpful to come up with a flexible schedule that leaves space for family life.

 

Organize yourself – Getting organized will help you get more work done at home or in the office. For example, arriving at work early gives you time to complete tasks with minimal distractions and interruptions. If you are an entrepreneur and also a parent, you will need to set up your business correctly from the start to avoid future hang-ups. Having a reliable and efficient system in place is one easy way to help your business run more effectively, allowing you to spend more time with your kids.

 

Eliminate time-eaters – Many people regularly interrupt important work to answer phones, check mail or do paperwork. It might be helpful to carry out these small tasks in batches at a specific time later in the day. Something else that can eat up time is the TV. If cutting out TV time is not possible, restrict yourself to watching one favorite show daily, leaving the rest of the time free to bond with your family.

 

Learn to say no – While getting work done is important, learn to say no to non-essential requests. Focus on doing what needs to be done and block out those tasks that do not require your personal attention. Hogging all the work in a bid to look busy and important is simply not worth it; it only leads to frustration and exhaustion.

 

Ask for help – Being a super-mom or dad is a myth. No-one can do it all by themselves. Parents who feel like they are struggling with the demands of the workplace and home should ask for help. Some duties can be delegated to co-workers, babysitters and even spouses.

 

Differentiate home and work – This can be hard in today’s world where people can carry their work around with them. However, it is important to learn how to unplug and focus completely on your kids once you get home. The children will bask in the attention and will be happier for it.

 

Set aside time for yourself – Parents need to schedule time for their own relaxation and rejuvenation. You should do something you enjoy to help you de-stress. This could be exercising, reading or spending time socializing.

 

Make family time sacred – Whether it is Sunday dinners, weekend outings, game nights or reading to the kids before bedtime, family time should be given the utmost priority. All parents should carve out special time to bond with their families away from the incessant demands of daily life.

 

Define your own success – There are no set rules on how to bring up a family; comparing yourself with other parents will only build resentment. Instead, come up with your own definition of a successful parent and strive to make your family a happy one.

 

The rewards

 

Sharing household chores and bringing kids up together can strengthen the relationship between couples. Looking at raising a family as a partnership is likely to make the marriage stronger as both parents will feel valued, less stressed and more satisfied with their lives.

 

Nothing makes children happier than spending quality time with mom and dad. Parents who want to bring up well-adjusted and emotionally healthy children should make it a priority to set aside time to bond with them.

 

A good work-life balance not only benefits parents individually, it also extends to the marriage and the family as a whole. Happy parents create happy families.