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Juggling Work and Family
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by
Ann Douglas
Feeling a little stressed? Struggling to keep all
the balls in the air? You're certainly in good company. Studies
have shown that the majority of mothers who work outside the home
experience a chronic time crunch: there simply aren't enough hours
in the day to accomplish everything that needs to be done. But have
no fear, Writer Ann Douglas, author of The Unofficial Guide to Having
A Baby and Family Finance: The Essential Guide for Parents, has
some tips to help make your life a little less crazy!
The ultimate juggling act
I recently had the opportunity to interview more than 150 women
who were attempting the ultimate of juggling acts -- balancing work
and family. They shared dozens of practical strategies for juggling
work and family -- little things like forcing yourself to take some
downtime when you've been madly multi-tasking all day. Here are
some of the "sanity savers" I learned from these master
jugglers -- tips for staying sane when you're struggling to juggle
your working life with the rest of your life.
Set reasonable working hours and stick to them
Swim against the tide of our workaholic culture and insist on taking
time for yourself and your family. Don't let anyone make you feel
guilty for turning off your phone or walking away from your computer
for a while. Everyone has the right to a personal life, regardless
of how much they get paid or which rung they're clinging to on the
corporate ladder.
Find a job you love
If you're going to do something 2,000 or more hours a year (and,
frankly, you'll be putting in many more hours than that if you're
self-employed or on the career fast-track!), you might as well make
sure that it's something you enjoy. If you're not crazy about your
current job or your present career path, there's no time like the
present to start planning your great escape.
And when you're coming up with a list of criteria for your "dream
job," make sure that you've put "family-friendly""
right at the top of the list. You want to work for a company that
considers its employees and their families to be one of its greatest
assets.
Work with people you like and respect
There's nothing more poisonous to a working environment than having
to work with a jerk. If you're saddled with the boss-from-you-know-where
or a co-worker who just plain gets on your nerves, you might want
to think about exiting stage left at the first opportunity.
Put your support team in place
Whether you turn to family members, friends, or coworkers for support
is unimportant. What matters is there's someone waiting to cheer
you on when you find yourself having a certifiably horrible day.
And don't be afraid to wave the white flag and ask family members
to pitch in with household tasks at home: there's no reason on Earth
you should be simultaneously making dinner and folding laundry when
the rest of the family is flopped out on the couch watching TV.
(If they seem to think this is reasonable, they've clearly tuned
into a few too many episodes of Leave It To Beaver!)
Learn to cut corners on things that don't matter
Or give yourself permission to delegate them to someone else. Despite
what you might have heard, there's no law that says that you have
to make all your meals from scratch, clean your own house and faithfully
read every issue of Martha Stewart Living (so that you can come
up with even more things to do with your "spare time").
Do enough housework to keep yourself from going crazy, but don't
overdo it. Better yet, hire someone else to do your cleaning for
you so you'll have more time for the things that really matter to
you -- like spending time with family members and friends, or investing
in your business.
Take care of YOU
Take care of your own needs rather than counting on someone else
to take care of them for you. No matter how great your boss, your
partner and your kids may be, it's your job to take care of yourself.
This is one job you simply can't delegate
Keep your sense of humor. It's the ultimate weapon against the craziness
around you, and the one thing that will keep you sane.
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