If you haven’t quite figured out how to maximize your time while your little ones are home from school. Check out these great time management hacks from Inc. These tips are also great for when your kids head back to school. Implementing them can help you achieve a healthy work-family balance, so keep reading for a few great highlights.
Work Ahead
This seems like the opposite of creating a balance between your work life and your family life, but front loading a few weeks of work is a great way to ensure you have time for your family later. For instance, if you’re planning to take a vacation, work a few weeks ahead so that you can fully check out from work while you away. If you know your little ones will be demanding more of your time in the upcoming weeks, make it a priority to complete any big projects early. Then you’ll have a smaller workload, and you can give your kids the attention they need.
Trade-In Your Other Activities
If you have a few hobbies or activities you regularly spend time on, consider using that time as quality family time instead. For instance, if you work out four or five times a week, drop two of your sweat sessions and enjoy family dinner instead. If you have older children, you can also try combining your hobbies with family time. Work out together, paint together, or teach your kids the basics of your favorite past-time.
Set Boundaries
Setting boundaries with your work is a great way to safeguard precious time spent with your family. If you’re in a position where you can set a specific cut-off time for your job, do so. Let your clients, subordinates, and superiors know that you’ll be unavailable after a certain time. Then turn off all work notifications. If completely checking out isn’t an option, try letting anyone who might need you after hours know that they should send messages with accurate urgency labels, so you can discern what needs your immediate attention and what can wait until after you’ve put the kids to bed or first thing the next morning.
Put Your Electronics Away
On that note, stashing your electronics during family time is a great way to enforce the boundaries you’ve set. Even when you intend to keep your focus on your family, it’s not hard to find yourself scrolling through your emails, Facebook, teams, or Slack channel while you’re sitting at the dinner table. The always-on mindset is hard to overcome, especially if it’s been a part of your lifestyle for a long time. So, when you can, turn off your phone, close your laptop, and put away for tablet.
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Strive For Greatness, Not Perfection
Balancing your work and family time is a hard task. The time demands are always in flux. Sometimes your job will demand more time, and sometimes your family will. It’s important to remember that you won’t always be able to strike a perfect balance. In those instances, focus on being fully present for whatever is on your agenda for the day. Whether it’s a quarterly report or a game of catch, give it your full attention.
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