Balancing a career and family isn’t easy. As a parent, you want to excel professionally and be present for your kids. It’s a delicate balance that requires intentionality and careful planning. Here are five secrets to help you navigate this challenging terrain:
Many companies are getting wise to the importance of work-life balance and if your job provides any flexibility, I encourage you to take full advantage of it. Even small chunks of wriggle room can make a positive impact on your ability to juggle career and family.
For example, instead of renting an office far from home and dealing with a draining commute, look into an executive office for rent in a coworking space closer to home. Having a professional workspace near your neighbourhood could eliminate all that wasted time sitting in traffic.
Or if your company allows remote work, see if you can negotiate working from home one set day per week. That gives you one day without any commute at all, where you can be more present with your family.
Setting clear boundaries between work and home life is easier said than done, but it’s so important for your sanity. When you’re at the office or working remotely, you should do your best to actually be at work — focus solely on your job responsibilities during those hours.
Don’t let home distractions like chores or kids’ activities pull you away from work time.
Likewise, when you’re at home in the evenings and on weekends, be mentally present with your family instead of still being preoccupied with work duties.
When you’re at work, you have to be ruthlessly focused and productive. Don’t just go through the motions— really maximise that work time.
Consolidate your meetings back-to-back instead of spacing them out. Minimise distractions like social media or chatting with coworkers about non-work stuff. Prioritise what needs to get done, and do it.
The more efficient you can be during work hours, the less likely it is that job responsibilities will bleed over into your family time in the evenings and on weekends.
Having a supportive, team-minded partner is like striking gold when you’re trying to balance a career and kids. You two have to be fully aligned on household responsibilities and parenting duties and have each other’s backs.
If you both work, take turns handling drop-offs, pick-ups, and household chores equitably based on your respective schedules that week. Don’t let one person get overburdened while the other coasts — that will just breed resentment.
Remember to constantly communicate about what you both need from each other and what expectations you have. Having that additional support, even just periodically, can be a game-changer.
If you don’t take care of yourself, you’ll have nothing left to give at work or home. Burnout helps absolutely no one. You have to prioritise your own physical and mental well-being by building little pockets of self-care right into your daily routine.
Maybe it’s taking a 20-minute walk during your lunch break to get some fresh air and move your body. Or start your day with a healthy morning routine consisting of 10 minutes of meditation and deep breathing to center yourself.
The activities don’t have to be huge. Just small, restorative practices you can sprinkle throughout your days.
Raising kids while pursuing a rewarding career is extremely challenging. But, following these tips can increase your chances of achieving that elusive work-life balance. It takes effort and discipline, but it’s worth it.
Photo by Alexander Dummer on Unsplash