Your family and your career are both important, but is it really possible to strike a balance between the two? Unfortunately, many parents are made to choose between their kids and their jobs due to the economic crisis. In fact, studies have found that working mothers have to reduce their working hours around four to five times more than fathers do, just so that they can care for their children.
Achieving success in both your family life and your career isn’t easy. However, by following these below strategies, a more balanced life could be closer than you think.
Understand That There Is No Perfect Time To Start A Family
Have an honest conversation about your family goals
Instead of thinking about the most ideal time to start a family, you and your spouse should focus on what kind of life you want to have together. Be honest with your partner as you open up about the number of kids and the family lifestyle that you want. This will help you both understand where your priorities lie when it comes to your career and family.
Consider your financial security as partners
Apart from identifying your family goals, you and your spouse must consider your financial security before starting a family. You have to be open about your financial situation, since you’ll need to take this into account while you’re planning your personal and professional lives.
Prioritize Your Health For Your Family And Career
Prepare yourself for pregnancy
It’s exciting to start your own family, but there could be multiple challenges along the way. As such, you and your spouse must start your journey with a doctor’s consultation. This will improve your chances of a healthy pregnancy, since your doctor can screen you for any medical conditions and prepare you for necessary treatments.
If there’s still no luck after a few years of trying, you can go to one of the best fertility clinics in India. Infertility India in Mumbai is well known for its high success rate for pregnancy, while the Indira Infertility and IVF Centre in Udaipur has state-of-the-art technology and highly trained specialists for infertility.
Create a health plan for your family
If your child is sick at home, focusing at work can be challenging. Parents simply want the best for their children, which is why it’s important to create a health plan for the entire family. Schedule your family’s immunizations and doctor’s visits to ensure that everyone is in the best condition.
Switch to a healthier lifestyle to prevent chronic illnesses
Chronic illnesses can affect your work performance and family relationships, so it’s important to switch to a healthier lifestyle before it’s too late. You can start by preparing balanced meals so that every family member can meet their nutritional needs. You can also turn regular exercise into a fun family activity by playing team sports with the kids or simply walking around the neighborhood.
Explore Paths For Better Work-Life Balance
Pursue a remote position for an in-demand job
In-demand jobs will give you much-needed financial stability while you start your own family. As there’s high demand for social workers in the US, you can pursue a remote social work job in Utah to achieve a better work-life balance. This allows you to successfully advance your practice while following a schedule that works best for you and your family.
Employees can also enjoy stability by taking advantage of the high demand for IT professionals in India. Since IT tasks can be done remotely, employees can freely manage their careers while caring for their families.
Consider doing freelance work
You can build up your professional skills and set your own terms by doing freelancing work with global clients. Since more companies are going digital, you can design and code business websites for entrepreneurs in Europe and Asia. You can even transfer your professional skills to various students by working as a teacher or tutor for online classes.
Establish boundaries with your career
If you’re happy with your current position, you can balance out your time in your workplace and at home by establishing boundaries. In fact, Companies in Australia have new offerings that include a four-day work week with no pay cut, after employees have started to prioritize their work-life balance. After showing that they can compress their workdays into four days, employees were able to negotiate for shorter weeks.
More recently, female workers in Lithuania were also given the option to enjoy four-day work weeks so that they can spend more time raising their children. Demonstrating your competence by accomplishing tasks within shorter workweeks allows you to prove your trustworthiness as an employee, and set boundaries with your everyday work.
Consider Getting Childcare Services
Discuss when you should seek childcare services
Childcare services ensure that your child will remain safe, while you focus on crucial deadlines and work responsibilities. But before availing of these services, you and your spouse should consider your child’s personal needs as well as their comfort levels in childcare settings. As this will be an extra expense, your family’s budget is also an essential factor in your decision.
Identify the best care provider for your child
Every parent wants their child to be well-taken care of while they’re away. Since each child has various needs and comfort levels, you should consider the best provider for your children, and whether you’ll need multiple options. Daycare providers are recommended for children who need to benefit from supervision and learning from a traditional center. Meanwhile, you can ensure your child’s safety by getting a nanny or a babysitter who can care for your child at home.
Build A Schedule For Your Entire Family
Assign chores to each family member
You and your spouse can have equal time to concentrate on work, as long as you properly delegate household chores to each member. Since this can take up a lot of time, assign tasks based on your preferences and skills. You can even involve the kids in the process to teach them valuable life skills.
Set aside time to bond with your family
After a hard day’s work, spend a bit of time interacting with your entire family. You can do this by simply eating your meals together, or even by watching your favorite evening shows. Though you may be busy at work, these gestures can go a long way in strengthening your family’s bond.
Genuine work-life balance doesn’t have to be an impossible dream. With proper planning, you have the power to achieve both your personal and professional dreams, with your family by your side.
