Friday, October 18, 2024

Staying Sane While Juggling Work and Life

Kids, school, work, appointments, extracurriculars, extended family, and more! Here are some tips on how to manage your busy family schedule

Guide Magazine

Working parents face an avalanche of tasks and appointments to juggle. The best way to ensure you don’t miss appointments, can manage your stress levels—especially when things don’t go according to plan—and don’t suffer from decision fatigue is to put in place systems and set aside time to plan.

P.S. These tips work well even if you don’t have a tribe of children to wrangle.

5 Weekly Systems

1. Set up a shared calendar with your partner (either on paper, a digital calendar like a Google calendar, or both).

2. Set aside a time every week (e.g., on Saturday or Sunday) to review the calendar for the following week.

a. Ensure there are no conflicts.

b. Delegate responsibility for tasks, extracurriculars, and appointments.

c. If you find there is too much going on, prioritize and decide what to cull.

d. Write down a to-do list of the extra errands/tasks that need to be done that week, and fit them into the calendar (with reminders). These can include things like getting groceries, bringing the bike to the repair shop, getting an oil change, etc.

e. Have a backup plan, especially for days where the schedule is tight. If one partner is stuck in traffic, and you need to suddenly figure out how to get two kids to opposite ends of the city, that’s never fun. Check in with family or friends ahead of time so you know who to call in case things go sideways on a jam-packed day.

3. Meal plan. Some people hate it; others swear by it. It does reduce your decision fatigue (who wants to get home at 5 and then try to pick what to make for dinner). It also decreases your reliance on prepared food/takeout and can help you eat better while saving money.

4. Divide your house into zones, and aim to clean/tidy a different zone each day. This way you won’t spend your entire weekend cleaning—or living in an uncomfortable mess, which can bring your mood down.

5. Review and update your budget tracker with anything you missed on your daily budget updates (see below).

10 Daily Systems

Wake up early to have some alone-time before the kids get up. Use it to stretch, meditate/pray, make a coffee, and review your plan for the day.
Have a morning routine that the kids participate in to cut back on dawdling, arguing, and chaos.
Delegate, delegate, delegate. Teaching your kids to do chores and pick up after themselves is painful, but within a few months, it pays off in spades. Ensure each child has a few age-appropriate chores to do each day to help keep the house running smoothly (even a two-year-old can pick up trash or put away their shoes). Plus, when they eventually leave the nest, they won’t be helpless and calling you with questions like, how do I do laundry?
Ensure your daily zone is tidied/cleaned.
Update your budget tracker with any purchases you made that day, and take a minute to review your calendar and the weather for tomorrow.
Make lunches, set out all the clothes (and shoes) for the next day, and pack your backpacks/bags. In the morning, it is as simple as taking the lunches out of the fridge, grabbing your bags, and heading out the door.
Prep for tomorrow’s dinner (e.g., pull meat out of the freezer).
Do a quick tidy of the main living areas, particularly of the hot spots that become dumping grounds. (Pro-tip—having a robot vacuum cleaner can be a life-saver. Not only does it cut back on dirt, but it forces you to pick things up each night).
Follow a nighttime routine, and set a bedtime for everyone—even yourself. Your routine should include some screen-free time to wind down.
Go to bed.

Big Picture

You can’t succeed with daily and weekly routines if your overall life and home are in chaos. So, if you are in a place where you are overwhelmed, before you try to set up routines, take time to purge clutter from your life. This includes physical objects and time-sucking tasks that steal your mental and physical energy. There are many resources and systems that help you purge. Pick one that works for you.

Also, take time to review or set goals. What do you really want for yourself and your family? This will help you prioritize what you spend your time and money on (making your calendar and budget review simple).

Finally, set healthy boundaries with work and external obligations, learn to say no when necessary, and carve out time each week for yourself. Even if it’s just a quick coffee date, or a daily walk. You can’t pour from an empty cup, and if you burn yourself out, you won’t be able to care for your family or fulfil your obligations at work.

Remember: baby steps. You don’t need to do everything at once. Slowly put in place and modify systems over the course of several months. Give yourself grace to fail, and then get back to it.

Resources

There are so many blogs and books that can help you—depending on your family’s needs and styles. Some resources used in this article include hbr.com, smallstuffcounts.com, and Sink Reflections by Marla Cilley.

There are also resources on myCLAC.ca for financial planning, including Wealthgoal on the My Health and Wellness page, and HumanaCare on the My Benefits page (if you are covered by a CLAC benefits plan).

Sources: flexjobs.com, hbr.com, smallstuffcounts.com

Staying Sane While Juggling Work and Life

You might be interested in