Juggling all the responsibilities we have in life is a challenge we all have to face, but if you have children, it can be even more important to get the balance between work and family life right. If you put too much emphasis on your work, you could risk it impacting your relationships at home, so how can you achieve the right balance for a happier family and a more productive work life?
How You Can Achieve The Right Work Life Balance Easily:
Don’t Bring Work Home With You:
Bringing your work home, whether physically or mentally, means you’re not able to give your family the attention and focus they need. If you need time to wind down after a stressful day, take ten minutes to shower and shift your mindset before you sit down with the kids and your partner. If you work from home, have set hours and a designated space to work from. Make sure you clear the space/shut the door on your work at the end of the day so it doesn’t spill into family life. Children sense moods quickly and they’ll know if you’re always coming home angry or worried, so take the time to reset your mood and relax, and this will help them to relax and enjoy your company much more.
Limit Distractions:
One of the biggest distractions right now is the news. From climate issues to the pandemic, and everything in between, it’s no surprise that the media can cause anxiety in children and adults alike. So, keep these types of distractions to a minimum where possible and focus your attention on activities that enhance emotional health rather than hinder it. From playing board games to going for walks or listening to music, find ways to spend time together that don’t involve sitting in front of the TV every evening.
Eat As A Family:
Meal times are a great opportunity to chat about your days and bond as a family, so don’t skip them. You could even make preparing the meal something you do together. Even if your kids have already eaten by the time you come home, get into the habit of sitting down with a drink or a snack and chatting with them before they go to bed.
It doesn’t need to be a deep, in-depth conversation but simply taking the time to talk to one another can do wonders for your family dynamic and keep everyone in the loop as to what you’re all up to and have going on in your personal lives. It reinforces in your mind that there’s more going on than just work, which can be hard to do sometimes.
Take Up A Hobby Together:
Your kids just want to spend time with you, so what better way to spend time as a family than by finding an activity you can all enjoy together? Making it an activity means you’re more likely to stick to a regular schedule for it, rather than it getting lost in amongst work and household chores, and it makes the time you spend together more fun and purposeful.
It doesn’t need to be anything expensive or time-consuming. It might be gardening on the weekends, going for a walk with the dog in the morning before you all head off for school and work, or playing football with friends one evening a week.
Make One Night A Special Night:
It’s easy for things to get lost in the to-do list, and time to run away from you. But making one night in the week a family night can really help to cement those experiences in your weekly routine and ensures that whatever else is going on, you have regular time together that’s not impacted by work calls, cleaning the house or homework.
Maybe make one evening a movie night where you take turns choosing a film to watch, or playing video games together. It could be a night where you try a new crafting activity or make something together, like a puzzle or lego. Whatever the activity, it’s a wonderful way to show your kids that no matter what, you have time for them.
Final Thoughts:
We all have busy lives, and finding time for everything can be hard. But with effort and forward planning, it’s perfectly possible to achieve a better balance between careers and family life. Not only does striking this balance benefit your relationships but it’s also worthwhile for your mental health and overall happiness too.
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I am so happy I stumbled across this article Joanne! It’s really hard sometimes to make the balance between these two – especially if you work like a freelancer or something like that. One of the best things we can probably do is to also separate “home office” from personal space. I used to have a work computer in my bedroom and it drove me almost crazy. Anyways, great article! 🙂