A good work-life balance is key when juggling the demands of a career and your family. There are many benefits of striving toward a good balance, including better relationships with your loved ones. There are several things you can do to make this balance better.
Consider Your Career Choice
While it is entirely possible to have a full-time career and still spend time with family, some careers are more family-oriented than others. Some medical professionals and first responders have to be on-call or work long hours, and it can be hard to set aside time with your loved ones. If your job is demanding, you may want to consider a career move.
One option is to work for yourself. As a business owner, you would get to choose which clients you worked with and how many you took on, allowing you to create your own schedule. Starting a business can be a costly undertaking, but if you are thinking of going this route, you can get a small business loan, no matter how large or small your company. Options such as AOF small business loans also come with resources, such as multi-lingual support networks, coaching, and learning resources.
Set Boundaries to Help Yourself Unplug
It’s a good idea to make sure your customers and colleagues are aware of your work hours, especially if you work remotely. They should know when you are working and when you are unavailable for responding to inquiries. One option is to create an autoresponder on your email and instant message so those who send you an email will know you are not around.
They will also be able to see when you will get back to them. Doing this can reduce the pressure of checking your work emails when you should be focusing on your family. Depending on your position in your company, you may need to be available to emergency messages, so you might tell them to text your personal number for that. When you are dealing with the pressures of life, having these clear boundaries will reduce stress and also increase aptitude during your work hours as you will be refreshed and tuned in instead of burned out and apathetic.
Block Out Time for Relationships
If you build strong relationships with your family, it is more likely you will have improved mental health. It’s important to set aside time to nurture the relationships that are important to you. These might include your immediate family or even extended family.
It’s important to block out this time with your loved ones. However, everyone else will also need to make spending time with each other a priority as well. Everyone should be on the same page and understand when this time should happen. Perhaps you make a point of having dinner together most nights. Or you may have family time on the weekends. You can also set aside some time to call other family members who live far away.
Focus on Quality
Instead of trying to focus on everything at once, think about the things that are really important to you. Take a look at what you do with your personal time and consider the ones that enhance your life and the ones that don’t add anything of value. You can then use this information to determine which relationships you should focus on.
