Can You Balance Work & Family?
Yes, no, maybe, sometimes but not always. Put it this way, my 'balancing act' is constantly shifting to accomodate daily life. I gotta tell ya, as a working mother, I'm so sick and tired of people constantly telling me how easy it is to balance career and family. Personally, I have found that the key to having a career and family is constant negotiation and adjusting one's goals to reality (and a great babysitter). I call it, living a life of lowered expectations. I'm sure someone is going to read this and say, you're wrong, it's easy and that they've got it all down. Good. Good for them. Recently, I read an article on AOL that offered the latest input on the four (overly simplified) simple steps to balancing career and family. Here they are:
1. Incorporate telecommuting into your workday.
Many companies allow their employees to work from home one or more days per week, which is an easy way for you to spend more time in the morning and afternoon with your children rather than in standstill traffic. Check with your human resources department and employee manual to see if telecommuting is an option. Of course, to telecommute you should be self-disciplined and able to get your work done even though the boss isn't leaning over your shoulder.
-- Have these people actually tried working at home?? It ain't easy. I'm a professional writer and I do most of my writing in the wee hours of the night when everyone's asleep. (There goes my sleep and my sex life - good thing I don't work in an office or I'd be exhausted, frustrated and snapping at everyone all day.) Have you ever tried talking on the phone when your kids are around? If you think that's hard try creating a presentation with them in the next room. Good luck with all of that.
Although your family is the most important thing in your life, you might forget to show it. Devote your weekends and any free weekday evenings to family activities. Even if you can't plan a mid-week activity, make a quick phone call to your children to see how their school day went.
-- Duh!! Like your family isn't your priority. Devote your weekends and weekday evenings to your family - like you don't do that already or at least try to. Like working women don't have guilt heaped upon them on a daily basis as it is. Thanks, that was a real help.
3. Take it easy.
Work can become so hectic that you forget that you actually do like your job and the people around you. Leave some free time to relax and regroup between meetings so you don't stay in a constant state of stress. You'll be able to appreciate what you do and whom you work with. Also, keep evenings and weekends free of projects so you can rest and be completely recharged when you head back to the office.
-- Remember to keep those evenings and weekends free so you can rest....that's after you've spent every last second of them with your family because they're your priority right?! Don't tell me you forgot Step 2 already! Don't forget to leave time in between meetings to rest and regroup....you can always do that when you're sitting in traffic on your way to the next meeting. (These people must not live in NY or LA.)
4. Let others do their share.
Make sure you're letting the people around you take on some responsibility. You might be tempted to do everything yourself, but you'll only stress yourself out. If you're a manager, delegating responsibility will ease your workload and allow your staff to develop their skills.
-- This is the only one I can really say Bravo to. Tell your husband to get off his *ss and help you with those kids already. And take up that offer from your mother-in-law to 'pitch in'. You'll be ever so glad you did.
What do you think of all this? How do you balance work and family? Is it even really possible?
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lol. I sympathize. I have done lots of telecommuting in the last 3 years. The IT industry is fairly friendly to database work and reporting being done from home. I have to say that all it does is free up commute time for family. While working from home, I still had to have childcare 15-20 hours a week, and got half of my hours in after my hubby and kids were asleep.
Both of my kids are under 3, and my hubby was out of the state or country 50% of the time. I did not find it 'easier' except that I could attend video conference meetings in my socks, and my coffee is made exactly the way I like it, and it didn't come in a paper cup!
I'm actually relieved that I spend 6 months or so out of the year exclusively as a SAHM, and I work hard to find short term work at home contracts 6-9 months in length max, so I don't get burnt out either as a worker or a parent.