Balancing Parenting With Work
Here are a few tips:
1. Prioritise your free time:
Block off a day or half day at the weekend and stick to it.
2. Diarise it:
Plan something that you know you and the family will enjoy. Even if it's watching 'X-Factor' together. The value is being in each other's company and making it worthwhile.
3. Think of how to engage them:
It's been proven that even the most laborious of subjects can enthuse a child if portrayed in an engaging way.
Be inventive, explore your local area, go to a race evening (these are often geared towards families with a concert and loads of children's activities), learn to trampoline. Whatever is going to be a fun family event- the Internet is full of activities (free and not so free!) to entertain children of all ages.
4. Tell the family about it beforehand:
This commits you and them.
5. Take away ALL distractions:
For that time, turn your phone off (or put on the voicemail), lock away your Blackberry and do not turn on your computer unless it is to play a game with the children or help them with their homework!
6. When you have enjoyed your time together commit to the next one.
Related Tags: time, children, balance, life, parenting, happy, father, mother, balanced, family.work, motivated
Marc Lockley is a personal coach with twenty years successful experience in National Press Media Sales, 10 of which as a leader. He is also a happy husband and father and knows the importance of balancing a pressurised workload with family and social life. Now he is a fully qualified coach based in the UK. For more details log on to his website http://www.lockleyassociates.co.uk
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