Establish Your Priorities
There will be times where more than one
thing that will need your attention. Prioritize these items in order of
importance. For example, staying at home with your sick child is more important
than a regular day at work. Another example would be preparing for a meeting
instead of a day at the park. Only YOU can make the judgment to decide which is
more important.
Plan Ahead – Create a list of family goals and establish a deadline
This includes school goals and
deadlines. Writing down these done and scheduling these makes you committed in
doing them. Following through will aid in achieving work-family balance.
Sometimes, it doesn't go accordingly and the next step will help you in
adapting to the changes.
Revise your calendar to benefit your family as your work and school obligations change
Take advantage of the extra time you
have with your family when work and school allows it. There will be times where
work and school will take up more time than expected. When these events occur,
adjust your schedule to accommodate for the imbalance and get to the original
plan as soon as you can.
Time Management – Develop your time-management abilities so that you are able to give your family their due time.
When you are organized, you are available
to give time to your family and have no excuse not to. One of the key skills of
time managing is being able to transfer from your work mode to family mode. You
may have to say no to a co-worker who asks help with a project that doesn't fit
into your schedule.
Communication
Be open with your spouse/family and let
them know what is going on. Don’t be afraid to express your concerns about
balancing work and family but at the same time, listen to their concerns. This
will help the family to be successful.
Build a Support Network
Ask for help and let others help you,
including your children, friends, neighbors, work colleagues, etc. You’ll be
surprised who is willing to help. Other times, you will need to make backup
plans so be prepared.
Get Rid of Guilt
Look at guilt like it is a waste of time
and emotional drainer of energy. Take a breath and realize that it is about the
past and the past can’t be changed. Learn from the mistake and move on. Focus
on what you can do to keep your family, work, and school balanced.
Make Boundaries
A boundary can mean saying no to a work
colleague or to a friend. Another boundary can be say no to another episode of
your favorite tv show and say yes to making a draft of that paper you have been
putting off. Making these boundaries help you take charge of your time and space
and listen to these innermost feelings.
Based on Stacey Higgins’ workshop presented on March 12, 2014.
If you would like to know more information or have questions, please contact Stacey Higgins at stacey.higgins@maine.edu.
If you would like to know more information or have questions, please contact Stacey Higgins at stacey.higgins@maine.edu.
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