Maintaining work-life balance is difficult – there is no way around it. I remember the days before the twins when I thought I was “busy” and deciding what to eat for dinner and whether I should work out or not. Those were the days! The preschool years now have their own challenges with all the children’s doctor’s appointments, school functions, activities, playdates, birthday parties, etc in addition to my husband’s travel work schedule and my own work responsibilities and social functions as well. You also want to make sure they get outdoor play, educational activities, and healthy meals once in a while (although, I do appreciate you immensely Chick-Fil-A). It can be a struggle to maintain the juggling act of everyone’s schedules and that can start to take a toll on you. Always remember that it is totally acceptable and encouraged to ask for help every now and again (…and again). It’s always going to be a challenge in one way or another, and you cannot always do it alone. We will not be perfect but with that being said, here we have a few pointers to help you organize your day better and help you multitask.
Prepping Earlier
- How many of us are scrambling to get everyone ready before work? Except for those that are morning people and can do everything before everyone wakes up, mornings can be chaotic. Make your mornings easier by pre-preparing for the day to follow. This might sound like it is extra work for the day but it will save you a major headache in the morning. Prepping breakfast ahead of time, preparing snacks/lunches for school, picking out out their outfits or uniforms, placing homework and show-and-tell items in the backpacks, and packing a bag for any after-school activities are all simple and quick things you can do the night before to help you in the morning madness.
- Take 5-10 minutes before you go to bed to make a list of things that have to get done the next day (mandatory meetings, school functions, and To-Do items that have to be completed by the end of the day). If some tasks on your list could not be completed, migrate it to your next To-Do list that evening or by the end of the week. Writing it down everything will clear your head to get a better sleep and will help you remember what needs to be accomplished the next day. I recently just started Bullet Journaling (http://bulletjournal.com) and trying this system out to increase my daily productivity – more on that later!
Outsourcing Help
- Outsourcing help with the children and maintaining your home can the key to half your troubles. Again, it is OKAY (and should be encouraged) for you to ask and hire help if it is financially feasible for you and your family. This can include a regular housekeeper, Mother’s Helper, full time nanny, a part-time nanny, driver for school and school activities, or just a list of reliable babysitters/family members.
- After having experienced several nannies in the twins’ first couple of years, we now have a part-time nanny that has worked well for our family. She is a college student in our neighborhood. We posted a job on our neighborhood Facebook group and several high school and local college students applied for the position. She gets the twins ready for school in the mornings and drops them off. She then picks them up in the afternoon after her college classes and then leaves in evenings. Twice a week, she takes them to their after-school activities (swim and dance). This has been a game changer for juggling all of schedules and maintaining your sanity!
Communication
- As in everything, communication is KEY to maintaining work-time balance. Keeping a family calendar (Google calendar, calendar whiteboard, etc.) for ALL to see will help keep up with everyone’s schedules and multiple activities. This will also help prevent overbooking yourselves or missing important functions. The most important information for our family calendar is my monthly call schedule and my husband’s travel schedule as we need to make sure we have childcare on those nights. Make sure to also note on your family calendar when you expect to be late at work or need to leave earlier in the mornings.
- Emergencies in medicine and LIFE will happen! You will not be able to schedule and predict everything that will happen on a daily basis but the more you PLAN and communicate what you can control, the better. We all need to take time out for ourselves so we can stay healthy and re-energized.
Learn to Say No
- The best way to keep yourself from being overworked, overwhelmed, and spreading yourself thin is by the strategic use of the word “No”. This is a difficult concept for many of us as we are people pleasers. Not everything asked of you needs time taken from your already busy schedule. We may want to volunteer for all of our children’s activities but it may not be feasible. We may not be able to accommodate all your colleagues requests at work that are not necessary. You need to know that not every requested meeting, school function, or extra committee position at work is a priority – you have to choose what is most important. If you keep spending valuable time on tasks that can be avoided, you will eventually end up missing out on much more pressing matters. It is key to understand when to say no and when to accept it.
- Learning to delegate is HARD but often is necessary. The hardest part is always going to be letting others do their own job for themselves. You feel that it is always going to be you doing the tasks otherwise it is not going to get done right and you will have to do it all over again. This is exactly the kind of thought process that leads to being overworked. Learn to delegate and LET GO.
Schedule Couple Time
- During the day-to-day hustle and bustle, one always forgets to pay attention to their better half. Being caught up with the children and then juggling work responsibilities can become quite a hassle and put STRESS on your relationship. In all of this, your spouse is often the first one to get neglected. Making time for your spouse is not just for them, it is for both of you. Schedule a date night (write it on the family calendar!) and hire a babysitter (outsourcing help!). See where I’m going with this? It all comes together! Taking time to reconnect and revisit the day’s events can help both of you get a better understanding of what you need from each other. This can in turn help the two of you to switch tasks and help each other out when needed. This will make you both appreciate the effort that the other puts in to the home and relationship. Again, communication is KEY!
Time To Recharge
- As much as your family needs you, you need TIME for yourself as well. It might feel selfish but it is not. If you have saved vacation time that need to be used, take the day or week off to catch up and BREATHE. Due to our crazy work schedule, we often do not have time to do our own self-care, including exercising and going to doctor’s appointments. Even if you have ONE day off, you can schedule a mani-pedi, make a spa appointment with a friend, go to lunch, go to yoga or pilates class, go for a bike ride, or even declutter your room – whatever it is that is going to recharge you and prepare you back to work and busy daily life.
We hope these tips have been helpful for you, but it will be the best for you to take them with a grain of salt. There is no single tip that will fit perfectly in the way you lead your life, but we hope you will find some helpful bits and pieces to help you manage your busy life better and work for YOU. One thing that remains true through all of these is that you need to make time for yourself! So always look after yourself and do not be afraid to speak up and ask for help. It is not a one person job and never will be. Everyone involved needs to be contributing in some capacity and that is the key to a healthy work and home life balance.
Disclaimer: The views and comments expressed are my own personal views and experiences, and do not represent any affiliated organization or entity. Any narrative accounts are compositions of my own personal experiences. My goal is to provide education, inspiration, and empowerment to other moms and physicians.
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