It’s easy to stay focused at work when the hot sun, green grass, and blue skies are not mocking you through your window. Staying focused at work also helps you stay focused with what is important outside of work: your family. When you fall behind at work during the summer, your interaction with your family can also suffer. So, how do you create a balance between your work life and your family life when the weather gets nice? Here are some key tips.
First, make a plan. If you work from home or if you commute to your office, you should make a plan of how much time you can and are willing to allow to each priority. Meet with your family as a whole or each individual family member and write down what each member has going on. Do your children have any sports camps to attend? Does anyone play on any summer sports teams? What about family trips and summer jobs? Determine what events you can commit to and which ones you will have to pass on. Meet on a weekly or monthly schedule to make sure you do not miss any important events.
Once you have your plan in place, create a visual schedule. Write down everything that was documented during when your family made your plan. Try using a different color for each family member to keep all the individual activities straight for each person. Also, include the hours you are working on which days. Therefore, there won’t be any surprises on a day to day basis. Lastly, keep a copy of this schedule at home and one at work so you can reference it at any given moment.
To make sure you get the most out of the family time you’ve set aside, keep work at work. Be honed in and focused at work to increase your productivity while you are at the office. That way, you won’t be at home wondering about projects that didn’t get done or what you will have to do the next day when you should be concentrated on the board game you’re playing with your children. That being said, take time at the end of each working day to create a to-do list for the next day. That way, you will immediately be productive upon entering your workplace which in turn can up your possibility of going home early!
When you’re at home, be focused on your family. Actually listen to each story your child has to tell you about his or her day. Take time to genuinely cheer on at your child’s tee-ball game and really enjoy the time you have with your family. Dale Carnegie once said: “Remember, today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday.” Live in the moment with your family. Whatever is happening tomorrow or happened yesterday can wait.
By creating a balance between your work life and your family life, you will create memories that will last through the long winter months and get the most out of your time in the summer sun.
This post is brought to you by the good folks at Dale Carnegie Training of Central & Southern New Jersey. We would love to connect with you on Facebook and Twitter @CarnegieJersey.