The key to a meaningful life is living the life you want to live. In an aim to find and live out our passions and joys, many of us juggle multiple commitments. Finding the right balance between these can be a struggle. Being mindful of your competing priorities any why they are important to you is key.
Here are my tips for finding work-life balance as a working parent.
- Be aware of the changes in your life. What works today may not work next month. Priorities change. It is perfectly ok to shift the balance as and when you need to.
- Strive for overall balance; not daily balance. Life is hectic and we can’t do all the things that are important to us each day; but we can do them all over the course of a week. If I don’t spend enough time with my daughter today, I can make up for it tomorrow. What’s important is that I do make up for it. Flexibility is key.
- Let go of other people’s expectations. Say no to activities that you don’t enjoy. Don’t feel obliged to do something because someone else expects you to.
- Try to make the most of ‘wasted’ time in your day. That’s not to say you should cut out all social media or television completely, but ask yourself if that is how you want to spend your time and react accordingly.
- Make time for down time or relaxation. Balance is not about filling every minute of your day to fit everything in. You have to make time for yourself, even if it is just a 15 minute walk in the fresh air.
- Exercise. I know everyone says it, but it’s true. Endorphins make you feel good and boost your energy levels which, in turn, will help you to stay balanced.
- Sometimes good enough is good enough. Not everything has to be perfect. Your husband may not have folded the washing the way you would have liked and your kids may not have put the toys away in the same way that you do. Does it really matter? Do you really want to spend your time fixing those little things, or could it be better spent elsewhere?
I love learning about different techniques for maintaining balance. What would you add to this list?
39 Responses
great tips, I totally agree with you on these
Some very good tips indeed. I agree with all of these!
Particularly love 1 – 3. Really good tips Lucy. xx
Number one is very mindful of me, isn’t it! 🙂
Having only just returned to work this week after 8 months of maternity leave this post is brilliant! i’ve been trying to find ways to cope with blogging and working fulltime and luckily Ben is asleep by the time i get home so i dont have to parent after a long day!
I have wednesdays off so I only work 2 days without seeing him for long! #PoCoLo
Oh bless, you’ll get there! It’s nice to have Wednesdays off in the middle of the week to break it up a bit. I call my days off ‘mummy and Lilly days’ and I ignore the computer and phone and just play with her all day. They’re great! Blogging is hard to fit in tho – I work from home so usually choose between spending my evenings blogging or working!
No. 7 – definitely something I need to work on now I’m back at work! I’m terrible for it – if it’s not done to my standard, I often throw my toys out the pram and do it myself… Great tips x #PoCoLo
Me too, Steph. I’m not brilliant at this either, but I’m trying!
Love all of this! The saying “no” part is so HUGE! As women and mamas we tend to feel like we have to please everyone all the time. It’s still not super easy for me to do but when I do say no to the things that don’t serve myself or my family or things that don’t bring joy I find more space for the things that DO serve us as well as others.
It can be hard saying no, especially when you don’t want to disappoint people; but like you say, finding space for you and your family is more important! Thanks for reading.
Great tips. I think we all need to find the right balance, sometimes it just takes a while to work out what that is. #PoCoLo
Oh yes, it sure does! Especially when it is changing so quickly!
I don’t work outside the home, but I like the idea of applying these tips to overall life-balance rather than daily-balance. Some days I get more done, other days I spend more time with my daughter. And overall, I am happy (I think my daughter is happy, too) #globalblogging
We’ll never be able to do a bit of everything every single day, and if we do, we won’t do any of them properly. Overall balance is much more achievable.
Love this post! #GlobalBlogging
I’m not sure I have anything to add! These are all helpful and doable. I like #7 for sure.
#globalblogging
Great tips. Although I don’t “Work”, I do blog, and these are relevant for that too I guess. It’s very hard to strike the right balance and even harder to maintain it! #globalblogging
#2 is something I’m really trying to work on. I’m waiting for 168 Hours to come available from the library because I’m looking for additional tips for this. #globalblogging
I haven’t read 168 hours, but I loved I Know How She Does It. Have a look for that one too, I think the key message is the same, just different target audiences.
Great tips! I’m sure number 6 will give me more energy but I also feel like I don’t have the energy to do it in the first place! :/ #globalblogging
haha that’s true. I’m struggling with that a bit too right now as we come into winter. I forced myself to go for a walk this morning and it did help. Stick to it! x
Some great tips, especially about being flexible. #globalblogging
Good tips, only wish I could stick to 2-3 and follow it through. Like, really, putting effort into it and follow it through. #globalblogging
Practical and essential tips there. Thanks. Love the quote at the end too…
#GlobalBlogging
Work life balance for working parents is challenging and I found that I could so easily loose portions of myself in the crazy rush. Taking time out for yourself is critical to ensure there is balance. Great article. #globalblogging
Some great tips here, I haven’t worked for a while but these days I don’t know how I’d fit a job in with everything else I do. I certainly need to think about re-balancing my life.
#globalblogging
Yes to all of this! I always think of that commercial that says “having a baby changes everything!” I can’t believe how true that has come to be.
Thanks for the tips.
#globalblogging
It is so true! I didn’t think I would change so much – oh how naive!
Some really good tips and some I wish I’d read when I went back to work after my first! #globalblogging
Some brilliant tips here, some I need to take heed of. Down time is just so important! Thanks for sharing with #GlobalBlogging
Oh wow.. you don’t know much I relate to this post, I’m so going to keep coming back to this! I also have recently decided that I need to start saying “no” to other people more. My time is now precious and I don’t want to give it all up just to keep pleasing others… #GlobalBlogging
Thanks so much Natalie, I’m glad you find it helpful. Keep an eye out as I have written a post about saying no which will be published in the next few days. Hopefully you’ll find that one helpful too!
Love #3 and #7… It’s so important to learn to say No and not feel guilty! I need to relax more and just let some things be.. These are great tips !! x #globalblogging
I agree with you that there should be balance and those you work with should support you as much as you help them #globalblogging.
I love this. Such a great post #globalblogging
It’s so tough finding the right balance – in fact probs impossible. When I returned to teaching last year, I just had the balance so wrong. And I certainly needed to start learning to say no because family comes first still, no matter, and time is so precious. #globalblogging
I don’t think it is impossible, but it does change often which makes it hard to keep up! So many people struggle with saying ‘no’ – keep an eye out for my post on that next week 🙂 x
Number 7 is my favourite, I don’t remind myself of that one enough! #GlobalBlogging
These are all really great tips. I struggle the most with #1. Realizing that life is fluid and we need to change with it … Thanks for reminding me! #GlobalBlogging