Ten Ways to balance work and family
Balancing a work life and a home life can be difficult, but with a little knowledge and planning, you can make it work for you. Here are ten tips that will help you balance your work life and home life.
1. Start your day off right by spending time with God. Use tools such as devotionals, Bible studies and praise music.
2. Set realistic goals. It's pretty much a given fact that if you want to achieve something big, you have to make some sacrifices. While the select few can manage, most people can't become a CEO and run a successful household. When setting your goals, be realistic and don't stretch yourself too thin.
3. Make schedules. Keeping track of work and your family can be difficult to plan. Try to keep a set schedule from day to day and week to week if you can. Always remember to make a written schedule and give everyone a copy.
4. Take time for yourself. It's a natural instinct of mothers to sacrifice themselves for the good of their family. However, it's important to remember that if you don't take care of yourself, you can't take care of anyone else. Try to schedule in at least a few minutes of "you time", whether it be going for a run, watching your favorite TV show, or just sitting in a room by yourself to relax for a few minutes.
5. Work from home. If you can do your work over the Internet or phone, you may be able to swing working at least part of the time from home, giving you more time to spend with your family. Just remember that there are a lot more things at home to distract you from getting your work done.
6. Get some exercise. Working out is not only a great way to stay healthy and gain energy, it's also a great way to spend time with your kids. Instead of hitting the gym, go play ball in the park or take them for a walk.
7. Take advantage of leave. Most jobs allow you a certain amount of leave, but a lot of us end up not using it. Make sure you know how much time you have and take it, whether you go on a vacation with your family or just use it to take a well-deserved rest day every so often.
8. Prioritize. When making your to-do lists, figure out the things that are most important for you to do and get them done first. If there isn't enough time to do everything, you won't feel as bad about what you have to cut.
9. Take classes. As many people will tell you, there's no manual on how to be a good parent and have a successful career. But if you search around your community, you can find classes and seminars from people that have been where you are and managed to do well. They can give you inspiration along with helpful tips and tidbits to get through your day.
10. Watch for burn out. Even if you schedule everything, take breaks, and do everything else above, what you're doing may just be too much for you. Watch yourself for changes in mood or physical problems. They could be a sign that you're burnt out and need to make some changes to your plans. Remember, your health is important too. Click here for more tips on how to avoid burn out.
11. Learn to say no. If you want to have a successful career and family life, you will have to learn to say no occasionally. If you try to do everything, you're going to burn yourself out and not be able to take care of anyone. Being a good employee and a good parent doesn't mean you need to do everything you're asked.
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Don’t Get Overwhelmed
When working on a big project, it's easy to look at it and think "there's just no way I can do that". But a big project becomes a lot more manageable if you break it down into smaller pieces - you just have to know how to divide it up.
Before you dive into breaking up your project and making a plan, you need to figure out exactly what needs to be done and when the project needs to be done by. This may be very easy if your client has a clear idea of what they want and a solid deadline, but they may be more flexible and want you to fill in the blanks, it which case this might take a bit longer.
Either during or after figuring out your full goal and deadline, break the job down into exactly what needs to be done. Break the job into small pieces. Don't worry about the order yet, just make sure you have a list of all the tasks involved. Also make sure to put next to each tasks who needs to be involved and what tools and equipment will be needed to complete it.
The next step is to organize all the pieces into an order. You can do this based on several criteria including:
* Client needs. No matter what your preferences, to run a successful business, you need to put the client first. If your client needs certain parts by certain dates, then that's going to be the first determinant of your schedule. Once that is decided, you can fill in the other blanks from there.
* Chronological considerations. While certain parts of projects can be done in any order, some activities require other portions to be done before they can be finished, or sometimes even started. Once you are done organizing things by firm deadlines, they can be ordered in this way.
* Availability of people and tools. Generally, you're going to need certain employees, outside contractors, specific equipment, and other items. These are likely going to be different for each part of the project. Organize your timeline based on who is needed for each part. For example, if you need a certain contractor for several steps, it's easier to do those steps one after the other instead of spreading them apart. And if a person is working on a part of the project that will take up all their time, they obviously can't work on another project at the same time.
Once you have a general order set up, you're ready to set up a more specific timeline with dates that specific parts of the project need to be done. Unlike the previous step, this one may be more difficult (and you may have to redo the last step). For your timeline, you need to take into account not only when things are due, but when people and equipment you need will be available.
Once you have your final plan, you're ready to get started. But, don't let you're planning be done there. We all know that nothing goes exactly as planned. Re-evaluate your plan every so often to make sure it still lines up with client expectations and how things are going. That way there won't be any surprises later on.
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Strategies to Avoid Wasting Time Online
Whether you're starting your own business, working at an established company, or just trying to get things done around the house, there's a good chance there's one thing intent on keeping you from getting things done: the Internet. It's especially difficult if your work requires you to be at the computer, hovering over your temptation. They key to getting things done is to not stop fighting. Here are some tips for keeping yourself on track.
* Schedule breaks. While distracting yourself all the time is obviously bad, you can't concentrate all the time. Taking scheduled breaks will let your mind reset and leave you refreshed to be more productive during your working time.
The key is getting back to work once the break is done. Set specific time limits on your breaks and be strict about keeping yourself to them. Try to limit your break time activities to ones you know you can stop doing once your time is up. If you're addicted to a computer game, that's probably not the best thing to do during your down time.
* Get a buddy to back you up. If you have trouble with self-discipline, why not borrow someone else's. If you've set time limits on how long you can take a break, have them check on you to make sure you're gotten back to work. They can also check up on you at unscheduled times so you never know when they might be coming.
It's important too make sure your buddy is someone dependable and that you value their opinions and advice. Otherwise their help might not be as helpful as you'd like.
* Is there a particular website that causes you problems? You can go into your Internet permissions and block this website so you cannot get to it. Sometimes, going through the extra step of unblocking the website to use it is enough extra effort for you to regain willpower and keep yourself from giving in. If not, get someone else to block the website and not give you the password. Be sure to set up an agreement for using the website before setting up the password. For example, you can only use the website after a specific project is done or goal is met.
* Work offline. Even online and computer-based businesses have work that can be done offline. If you find you keep switching to distracting websites, leave the computer and work on something else for a while. If you need to get work done on your computer, do it at times when you are more able to concentrate and not stray around online.
If you need to do work on the computer, but don't need the Internet, try unplugging your connection. If you have a laptop, you can go somewhere without Internet so you wont be tempted to reconnect.
While the Internet can be a big distraction, with a little effort you can turn it back into being just a great work tool.
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Time Management
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