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How to Better Manage Your Work-Life Balance When You're a Parent

When you've set up your new business, you may find that your work-life balance is out of sync for a while until you get into the swing of things. But this is undoubtedly harder when you're also a parent. You may find that you're clocking off at 7pm each night and still trying to spend time with your children.

When you're running your own business, you may think that you can clock out early whenever you like, but unfortunately the reality is very different and pressing deadlines can mean you end up working more hours than you would in conventional employment.

To try and make things a little easier for you, we've compiled a few tips for juggling family while maintaining your work-life balance.

Set a schedule

Setting up and sticking to a schedule is key if you're looking to balance your work and your family. It's important to know what you're going to be doing each day, so that when you get up, you're not wasting time and energy on things you don't need to do.

Try to set your schedule so that your daily routine is the same day-in day-out. Don't forget to include things like spend time with the kids, exercise and unplug into your routine, this way you get to have some down-time while you're not working.

When working out your schedule, look for when you can be most productive, such as when the kids are at school to carry out most of your work. But don't be afraid to try a few different things before you find one that works for you and your family.

Know what you can sacrifice and what you can't

If you want to get your work-life balanced, then sacrifices will have to be made. This is the only way in which your time can be managed.

You may find that you love travelling to work events outside of where you live. But this can cut down your family time, so maybe look at attending fewer events over the course of the year.

Also, don't work when you're meant to be spending time with your family. It may be tempting to log in to check your email when you're doing activities, but this lowers the quality of the time spent with your family.

Allow your kids to get involved with your work

We don't mean that you should have your kids working for you full time. Just finding them little things to do which can allow you to spend time with them while you're working. This could be something like product testing or putting forward marketing ideas. This is obviously dependant on the type of business and the age of your child.

Make the most of the time you have without the kids

This doesn't mean rejoicing that you don't have the kids, just that you should get as much work done as you can while they're not around. Kids need your attention and if you're busy and not paying attention to them, they'll know about it. This can be as simple as getting work done while they're at school, or waking up before everyone else so that you can get some work done while not being distracted.

The idea is not to neglect your family, but rather to get things done when you're not around them.

Commit 100% to everything

People who are successful don't just strive for 100% in one area, they look for it in all aspects of their life. If you're being average at home, then this will spill out to other aspects of your life, including your work.

If you're spending time with your kids, don't get distracted, go for 100% commitment with no looking at your phone or work. While you're working, commit 100% to that with no distractions.

Be flexible

You're the boss of your business and if the standard 9-to-5 isn't cutting it, change it. You can set your own schedule that fits in with your home life as well as the work you're doing. Use your business to your advantage instead of sticking with the status quo.

Mistakes happen, it's how you deal with them

You'll make mistakes in business and you'll have setbacks. That's ok, there's no such thing as perfection when it comes to the real world. There may be days when life doesn't care that you have a calendar set up with your schedule on. Just don't give up, learn from every experience and become the best entrepreneur and parent you can be.

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