The reconciliation of family life and work is troublesome for many and impossible for some. However, knowing the rules of effective time management, it is possible to find time for family life and pleasures even among the busiest people…
The reconciliation of family life and work is troublesome for many and impossible for some. However, knowing the rules of effective time management, it is possible to find time for family life and pleasures even among the busiest people. Of course, the effective management of time, professional duties, and family life is a skill that has to be constantly developed. It is impossible to simply change our entire style of life and to start perfectly managing family matters over the course of one day. However, our experience and our innate or hard-earned abilities make it possible and easy to effectively manage time related to our family and professional lives.
Planning our family life
There is no doubt that the skill of planning is very useful in life – even in private life in which one might think that spontaneity is the most important element. The effective management of activities, duties, and time makes us become a part of positive changes in relation to routine activities which are the daily bread of the everyday functioning of our family. The skillful management of family life is of huge importance in the long run. It is worth to say that good time management results not only in an increased level of effectiveness in relation to everyday activities, but also in more private space for personal pleasures. Thanks to this skill, it is easier for us to find time for our children, our hobbies, for walking with our dog, going to cinema or dining at a favorite restaurant. It is up to us to decide what to do with the free time that we are able to find thanks to our effective managing skills.
What are some other benefits that derive from the good management of time devoted to our family? We are far more satisfied with our work. By planning a few days in advance, it is easier for us, to a certain extent, to organize some large scale tasks, like a renovation of our home, or the organization of a birthday party for our child. Surely, thanks to planning we suffer less from stress. Everybody knows what to do, what are his or her obligations in relation to family duties, etc. The matter proves to be very simple if everyone at home respects common management of family life. The problem is when one member of the household interferes with the rhythm established by other members of the family.
The management of family life when there is a small child
When a baby is born, the life of a family changes totally. The biggest change affects the young couple who, until now, used to be completely free and independent. They have to change virtually everything in their style of life. They have to think about their priorities and plans for the future and introduce some necessary changes. At the same time, the skillful management of family life should grant young parents the feeling of belonging to the society. This should especially concern the mother who, in most cases, stays alone at home in order to take care of the newborn child. There are many ways of making active use of the time we spend at home with our child. Young mothers and fathers do not have to stay at home, in seclusion from the society. They can, to a certain extent, fulfill professional duties and even develop themselves.
Undoubtedly, a baby that suddenly appears at home is the reason for many changes in the family. However, it is possible to introduce order to the new situation. In the next few years, the baby becomes the most important person in the family, or at least – it should become. During the first years of the baby’s existence, its parents should make sure that it feels safe, important, and loved. In order to achieve this, they have to devote maximum time to the effort. For some time, the couple has to put aside entertainment and personal pleasures and focus on the proper and healthy development of their young one. They have to ensure a happy and careless childhood.
The management of time in the case of a newborn child
When there is a newborn child in our family, we should focus on finding some spare moments for relaxation. Very often, young parents are totally unaware of how important it is to find some spare time to rest and regenerate strength when they take care of a small child. Five tranquil minutes just for ourselves to calm down and relax can truly be invaluable. The temporary detachment from everyday duties should become our habit. Otherwise, we might consider the process of taking care of our child not as a kind pleasure that evokes the feeling of self-fulfillment, but as a sad obligation to which we are forced.
It is not easy to find time just for ourselves because a newborn child is totally dependent on its parents. It can be easy for a father to detach himself from everyday household routine, but this can prove to be very difficult for a mother. When managing our family life when there is a newborn child in the household we have to pay attention not to exhaust our physical and mental strength while we are taking care of the baby.
How to effectively manage our family life?
Every family member who has fulfilled his household duties well should have time to rest. One cannot constantly work, regardless of whether we talk about dishwashing or tidying rooms. Everyone needs relaxation to regenerate strength. Thanks to resting, it is possible to have a fresh look on many household matters. What is more, thanks to effective time management by means of which we may find a few moments to relax, we protect ourselves from extinguishing our inner reserves of power.
The next important thing in the management of family life is the rational division of household duties between all members of the family so that everyone accepts his or her own part. If the husband hates dishwashing, it is better not to assign this duty to him. Instead, let him do the shopping or something else. The development of a well-functioning plan of household duties helps manage family life effectively. Active participation of all family members in family life is highly advantageous for the family.
Effective management of a family is, as it was stated earlier, always connected with time management. At the same time, it also refers to the management of space. The skillful management of living space means that every piece of equipment at a given household should not be an obstacle for family members. Such things should not make it difficult for others to fulfill their everyday duties. When there are no obstacles, all activities can proceed uninterrupted. Any time losses that result from bad spatial management lead to fewer moments of relaxation for family members. Little or no time for relaxation leads to high levels of stress. Such a situation negatively influences the moods of household members. We must not allow that to happen.
Work-Life Balance
The term Work-Life Balance means, literally, finding the balance between private and professional life. It is difficult to achieve in many cases. The biggest challenge when it comes to the management of family and professional life lies in the phenomenon of overwork. The more a given employee is engaged in his work, the harder it is for him or her to find time for family life. He returns home in the evening, and he does not have the time and strength to play with his children or to talk with his loved one. Under such circumstances, family life is virtually nonexistent, therefore, there is nothing really left to manage. This is not a good situation, especially if we consider the mental health of such an employee. We have to develop our management skills so that we find time for professional duties, our loved ones, or broadly understood entertainment. We have to learn to create clear-cut boundaries between work and family life because a situation in which we have too many professional obligations, which, additionally, someone assigned to us without our will, negatively influences our family relations.
The stress caused by the lack of time
Inappropriate management of family life leads to high levels of stress. Such a person does not find self-fulfillment in family life; a man does not get the chance to become a good father or husband; a woman does not become a good mother or wife. Additionally, the feeling of guilt and unhappiness appears as the result of not having time for anything, not even some small personal hobbies. If such a person is not at work or on some professional errands, he takes care of the household duties which he usually neglects every day. There is no hope for relaxation or fulfilling personal dreams, etc. This is probably the best possible example of bad management of family life. Undoubtedly, such a person suffers from high stress levels. He cannot finish what he starts, and his relations with the family begin to crumble. This is a clear path to total isolation from those closest to us.
The factors related to professional work are the biggest cause of stress in the lives of many people. The next reason is the lack of time for family due to too many professional obligations. A person does not have the time to fulfill all the duties which are naturally assigned to him in family life.
The most important thing is not to take work back home, not to talk with our wife during supper about problems with our boss, and not to settle problems with our colleagues during the family dinner. Work should be left in front of the doors of our household if we want to be able to manage our family life effectively.
The management of family life is based mainly on the necessity to draw a line between professional duties and family related matters. We must not forget that skillful management of family life is not just about duties and obligations, but also about pleasures – relaxation, hobbies, etc. The time spent with our family should be a source of satisfaction, not a sad obligation which we fulfill between two business meetings in our schedule. The management of family life should be strongly connected to the management of time of a given family. If everyone is given certain duties to fulfill and has the time to relax, everything should turn out well. Thanks to the skillful management of time, our family life becomes better, more satisfying, and less stressful.
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