Your destiny will be greatly affected by how much energy and care you put into everything that you do. Being very productive in your days will reap many rewards over your lifetime. For example, if you study hard and try to be an excellent student it will give you skills that will be very useful in life, possibilities for scholarships and further education, and opportunities for better jobs. Putting care and attention into your job can bring you promotion, more pay, and other job opportunities. Working to make your home better than when you purchased it will make it worth more and give you a more enjoyable home. Making an effort to be a fair and kind person and a good communicator will improve your relationships and make them more rewarding.
Plan each day to include things you can look forward to and rewards for getting your work done. This way you will be better motivated to start your day and work well to finish. The object should not be to work hard just so that you can work longer, but to do good work so that you can enjoy doing your work, be successful, and also enjoy having time off. Balancing working efficiently with time off to restore yourself is the best combination for success.
When you find your energy slowing in your workday, take a few minutes to re-energize. Some people find that five minutes of exercise will renew energy and make you feel more alert. You could walk outside to clear your mind, or do jumping jacks or jump rope indoors to raise your metabolism. Deep breathing exercises, yoga, or stretching may also help. Getting your body moving after it has been sitting for some time can help you to feel more alert, as can switching between tasks, or changing your location.
Set goals for your day, your week, and your month for your job and personal life. This will help you to stay focused on what is most important and not get distracted with less important activities. Then, also designate time in each day for play, socializing, or doing nothing. These hours of enjoyment are necessary, too.
Balance Work And Family
A master family calendar is a great way to keep track of everyone's commitments, appointments, and activities. Keep it in a central location in your house?perhaps in the kitchen or by the front door?and updated it regularly. Make sure that all the family members know about it and update their appointments as well. This might take some time to work smoothly, but having a master schedule for the family will make your life easier. (It will also highlight any conflicting appointments or activities that might need to be rescheduled.)
Get takeout or go out to eat once during the week
Families often reserve the weekends for going out to dinner or ordering takeout, but consider doing this on a weeknight instead. It doesn't have to be anything fancy, but giving yourself one night off from having to cook in the middle of the week can reduce stress and give the family a chance to catch up over a relaxing meal.
Get your kids involved in helping around the house
Cleaning and cooking are two household chores that can take up a significant amount of our time as parents. Think about involving your kids and getting them to help you with these ? or other?household chores. It will teach them responsibility and a good worth ethic, but most importantly, it will allow you to spend time together doing something as a family. Even very young kids can help out?perhaps you can let them wash plastic containers in the sink while you empty out the dishwasher.
Outsource tasks if you can
As organized as you might be the amount of things that have to get done when you work and have a family is overwhelming. Think about whether you can outsource any of the tasks that take up significant time and effort. Can you afford to hire some cleaning help once a month? Have your groceries delivered? Have someone else mow your lawn? It is certainly a financial investment to get help but it will free up your time and energy to spend with your family or finishing up work that needs to be done. If you consider how much your time is worth you might realize that it is actually cheaper to outsource some household tasks.
Focus on your kids when you're with them
If you're one of millions of parents balancing work and family you've probably been in a situation when you're thinking about work or checking your phone or Blackberry while playing with your kids. Sometimes you don't have a choice when urgent things come up, but generally, try to focus 100% of your attention on your kids when you're spending time with them. It will create a closer and better experience for you and the kids and when you have to return to work it will reduce the guilt that many of us feel as working parents. Your kids will also feel that you're focused on them and will be secure in your relationship and your focus on them even when you have to work and can't be there with them.
Allow things?and yourself'to be imperfect
We don't like the term work-life balance because it implies that there is some perfect balance out there that we're supposed to achieve. In fact, we think that one of the most important ways to reduce the stress of juggling work and family is to let go of your inner perfectionist and accept that things won't always work out exactly as you'd like. You won't make it to every soccer game at your kids? school and you'll probably be late on some work assignments. Dust bunnies might become your friends and you might have to order takeout more often than you'd like. But that's more than OK and if you can embrace the imperfection you'll stress less about trying to get it all just right.
Take time for yourself, even if it's just 10 minutes
Most of us have heard this advice yet many of us manage to ignore it. But it's not a good idea and you should work hard on your schedule to make sure that you take some time for yourself. Start with just 10 minutes a day. What you do with those minutes is up to you, but you could grab a cup of tea and your favorite book, meditate, do yoga, or go for a brisk walk, call a friend, or read a magazine. As long as it's an activity you enjoy doing it for a few minutes will help you feel a bit more refreshed and ready to continue with your juggle.
Both Cd Mohatta & Susan Smith are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
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