Finding the perfect balance between working, taking care of the kids, and finding time for yourself can be very hard to do. You have to work and provide for your family but you also have to take care of your kids and make sure that they get to do the things that they want. On top of that, you also have your own dreams and ambitions to fulfil. How can you find manage to find time for each of that without sacrificing something?

 As a parent, you always want the best for your kids. You want them to become successful in whatever they want to do, grow up versatile and well-rounded, and hone their skills and talents. Finding the perfect balance while managing a household is already hard to do. When your children’s extracurricular activities enter the picture, it becomes twice as hard. It can get very stressful and harder to manage your time. You want your children to try as many things as they want to but at the same time, you can’t be there for them all the time because of work and time constraints. You begin to feel like you’re missing out on your family life. It gets very frustrating and you might feel like breaking down sometimes. Here are some tips that can help you regain control in your life.

Find Stability in Yourself

In finding the perfect balance, you have to reflect on yourself first. Is your job taking over your life and overwhelming you all the time or does it make you feel uninspired? Before you can find balance in your life, you have to first find stability within yourself. If you feel like your work is becoming more and more of a nuisance, then it must be time to find another job.

If you don’t want to quit your job, an alternative would be to talk to your employer. If your job is severely affecting your family life, be as open and honest to your employer as possible. Find out if you can adjust your work schedule and make it more flexible. Don’t forget to assure your employer that adjusting your schedule will not affect your performance and productivity.

Your job shouldn’t take up all your time. It has to be something that challenges you but at the same time, provides you enough time for your family.

Spend Time with Your Family

Communication is very important in keeping bonds close and preventing misunderstandings to happen. Find time to keep up with your children. Have dinner with them and ask them about school or their extracurricular activities. Talk to them and tell them how your day went. Ask them how they are feeling and if they have any problems at school or at home. Creative fun rituals like movie nights or other special family activities that can fit in your schedule.

For children with a lot of after school activities, you have to be careful that they down burn themselves out. If they do too much on top of attending school, they can become exhausted. These extracurricular activities are supposed to help them improve their skills and become more versatile and adaptable. It shouldn’t be something that causes them stress or pressure. Make sure to talk to your children about their after-school activities.

Have they lost interest in a certain activity or do they still want to do it? Narrowing their activities to one or two can be very beneficial to them. It can keep them from becoming worn out and they have a lot of time left on their hands to socialize with their friends and spend time with the family. Another thing to keep in mind is to never push your children to do something that they don’t want to do just because it was something that you never got to do when you were younger.

Spend Some Quality Time with Your Partner

When trying to find balance between work and family life, spending time with your children might be your first concern. However, your partner can also feel neglected, more so if both of you are working. You start to spend less time with other, and you have no opportunities to go out and have fun. If it’s too hard to spend time outside your home, you can still spend time indoors. Have a dinner date with just the two of you and talk.

Taking care of your relationship will not only strengthen your bond and marriage but it can also help regain balance in your work and family life. 

The most important thing that you should keep in mind is to accept that life is not perfect. You will always experience ups and downs and imbalance in both your work and your family life but that doesn’t mean that you are doing a bad job at finding stability in your life. Always remember that although there is nothing wrong with working hard to provide for your family, what matters most in the end is not what you have but the memories you have made with each other.