Balancing a Career with Family Life

How do I forge a great career and give my family what they need? Can I do both? Yes, you can, and it comes down to one thing:

Boundaries.

Establishing and holding them.

Since becoming a mum, this question has been constantly on my mind. I ran a survey recently, and 94% of the respondents (all female) cited the work/life juggle as their number one work-related challenge. It also comes up in some guise with the majority of my coaching clients.

I shy away from using the word “balance”, as I feel this implies that every area gets equal attention and in reality the pendulum swings back and forth from day to day Try to look at it over a week or a month instead.

There’s no one size fits all for this but here’s what helps our family:

• Try not to multi-task family and work - trying to juggle demands from different fronts at the same time results in frustration; try as much as possible to be at home when you’re at home, and at work when you’re at work.

• Compartmentalise physically and mentally as much as possible - have a specific place at home for your laptop; don’t let laptop seepage leak into your family life.

• Protect family time - if you need to work at the weekend, give your family the heads up in advance so it doesn’t come as a surprise, and can be planned in to cause the minimum disruption to family plans.

• Ask your children questions - and listen to the answers. The little things for us are the big things to them.

• No phones at the dining table - Tell yourself you’ll do that essential task once the children are in bed.

• Find a pocket of time for yourself - it’s not possible to pour from an empty cup.

It’s about being strict with your boundaries, but also being kind to yourself when things slip.