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Being a parent is one of the most difficult roles that anyone could have. It’s a role that essentially begins right when you find out there is a pregnancy. Even after your child turns 18, parenting doesn’t end then. This is a role that you take on until death. There is no doubt about it that being a parent is hard. You have to do this 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and you’re not going to get very many breaks (if any at all).  Nevertheless, this round-the-clock job is completely worth it for the little ones that you love.

With that said, many parents face a fork in the road of whether to dedicate more time to their family or advance their careers. It’s something that many will face, and it’s a struggle to make such a decision. There’s this belief that in order to advance in your career, whether you work for an employer or for your own business, there need to be sacrifices. It doesn’t entirely need to be the case, however.

You can still have a fulfilling career and have a happy family to tend to at the same time. Sure, maybe some sleep here and there or some “me-time” needs to be sacrificed, but it’s completely worth it to get some balance in , isn’t it? There are some tips to help you out in balancing out having a career and keeping to your family life at the same time.

Work from home

Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, now more than ever parents are getting the opportunity to work from home. Because of this, parents are getting to have more time to themselves since there’s no need to commute, more time to stay up, sleep in, clean up the home, and even take care of the family. Getting to work remotely does have its perks, and some people are looking into working remotely permanently. It’s easy to see why as well. 

There are so many benefits to getting to work from home that it would be hard to pass up. Having the chance to work virtually from home allows the chance to multitask such as cooking and cleaning throughout the day, getting to eat with your family, and there’s no need to worry about coming home late from work.

A great example that many are doing would be quickly throwing in some dishes into the dishwasher while chatting on the phone with a coworker. Even if you’re waiting for a meeting to begin or a call from a client, you can then do something such as fold laundry. Doing all of these tasks throughout the day can make a world of a difference. It frees up so much time in your day, so you’d be able to do other things.

Set some boundaries

As a parent, you should never be afraid to set boundaries. Your family should come first, and you need to protect them. Not only is it important to establish boundaries but it’s important for establishing paternity as well.  Having boundaries will allow your coworkers and clients to see that there are limits. Some examples can include leaving a signature in your email that states that you do not respond to messages past 5:00 pm, refusing to take calls after work or during dinner, or even telling everyone that you’re not going to respond or take calls during weekends or vacations.

It’s important to set clear boundaries and to protect them at every chance that you get. Unfortunately, boundaries tend to get crossed quite easily and it can then be more difficult to set them again. Stand up for yourself and don’t allow yourself to be taken advantage of.

Keep work and personal life separate

You wouldn’t miss a meeting at work, right? Then why would you miss dinner with your family or an important event? It’s important to keep your work and your home life separate. You should treat home-life obligations as just as important as your job obligations.  Make sure that you put important events in your schedule, stay informed too. Another thing that could help is immediately getting out of the work mindset the moment you get home.  You should keep all of your work-related responsibilities at work. So this means no answering the phone or checking emails once you’re home.  You want to promote family bonding and this is a nice way to do that.

Skip out on work social events

While a lot of these aren’t as common due to the current COVID-19 pandemic, there are some offices that will do Friday Night Drinks or Happy Hour, or even company-related events such as weekend trips. These are usually not mandatory, and it’s usually fit for those who don’t have families or who are still young in their career. You don’t have to force yourself to go to these events, instead, just allow yourself to go home and be with your family.