Perhaps one of the most common issues that working parents face is the ability to balance work and family life. There’s nothing harder than finding yourself responsible to put food on the table, only to find out that you’re putting in so many hours to do it—and then you don’t get to see them as much. If you’re in this very common predicament, here are some tips to help you balance work and family life.
Don’t Bring Your Work Home With You
You might think that a person concerned with work and family balance would never bring their work home with them. But it’s actually pretty common, especially when a person is so consumed with what they’re doing at work. This, however, is the opposite you need to have. You need to develop a great ability to “turn off” work when you get home, and allow yourself to fully embrace the time you have with your family when you’re actually there.
Customize Your Hours
This will depend on the specific job you’re at, but if you have the ability to customize your hours, you should do it. For instance, if you know that your baby goes to sleep at 7:30 p.m., and the only way you’ll get to see them before they go to bed is if you leave work an hour early (and arrive to work an hour early), then see if you can do that. It’ll be worth it just to see them at the end of the day.