When considering family versus career, don't think that you have to choose one or the other. You can have both, but it won't be easy, and it's impossible to be a Supermom. If you know what you want, make your needs clear to your family and co-workers, be meticulous about your schedule and take care of yourself along the way, you can be successful at balancing work and family.
What Do You Want from Life?
After years of women staying at home, most families now have both parents working, but not everyone has been able to prioritize. To achieve a healthy career-family balance, think about what you want from life. What kind of career do you want? What is your end goal? Once you know what you want from life, you can start working toward that goal instead of feeling like you have to do everything.
For example, if you know you want to be a partner in a law firm and will need to work a certain number of hours a week, you and your spouse can compromise on who does what at home. Remember that compromise will need to be a piece of your life. You don't want to be selfish when it comes to balancing a career and a family; your spouse may also want to achieve this balance. For example, you may need to compromise on the firm or city in which you practice law so that your spouse can also get what they need from their career.
Talk to Your Family and Boss
The clearer you are about what you need, the more likely it is that your family and co-workers will be able to help you. If you know you have a birthday, anniversary or special event to attend, give your boss and coworkers plenty of advance notice so they can help you be where you need to be. Depending on the nature of your work, you could arrange to make up the time if you decide to leave early, or you could take a shift that better suits your family's plans.
If your family knows all of your workplace obligations, they will be more understanding about when you can or cannot make it to one of their events or when you miss dinner. On the flip side, if your workplace knows your familial obligations, they will be more understanding about your missing a retreat to go to your child's soccer game.
You should also know what you absolutely can't miss, which will make scheduling much easier for everyone involved. For example, if there's a retreat for work that isn't mandatory, consider skipping it. If your child has baseball games, try to attend every other one.
Time Management
Many times, you might feel as if there just aren't enough hours in the day to do everything you need to do. When juggling work and family, you really need to dig your heels in and watch your time carefully. Use a planner, write your obligations on a whiteboard on the refrigerator and inform your family and work of your obligations so that you don't double-book yourself. Get your family into the habit of keeping calendars so they don't double-book you as well.
You'll find yourself tempted to book more events than you can handle. You may think you can do everything, but it's important to recognize your limits. Talk to your partner and to your kids so that they can help with the household chores and so that you and your partner can take turns picking the kids up from school and handling daily tasks. Sharing tasks equally will free up more time for everyone.
Ask for Help
Ask other people who have careers and families how they achieve the balance. Other people in similar situations may have some valuable tips for how to navigate a career and a family. Additionally, if you ask someone who's in your career, they may also have career advice and specific information about how to schedule your day. Don't feel as if you have to do it all: It's okay to ask for help. For example, if you and your spouse both need to work one weekend, don't feel bad about asking friends or family members to help with household chores, babysitting or errands.
Look for babysitters to help with the balancing act, and be sure to let your family know about the responsibilities you have. If you have children, consider putting them in after-school activities so that they also have something to do while you and your spouse are at work. Likewise, it's okay to say no to obligations at work-within reason-and to explain your familial obligations.
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