Employed parents often don’t manage to handle their job and family equally successfully.
A lack of organization, poor time management, and bad physical condition are only some of the reasons for this failure.
The good news is that everybody can improve their productivity and family matters.
In this article, we’ll break down five hacks that will help working parents stay productive without neglecting their families.
- Apply flexibility
Most people become part of rigid routines from an early age. Elementary and high school education shape us into rule-obeying adults.
If you understand that sometimes flexibility is the fastest shortcut to productivity, you’ll become more efficient in everything you do.
In terms of family and work obligations and flexibility, here are some practical steps that will make you more efficient:
- Divide your workday into two halves. Get up early in the morning to do some of your tasks. Take care of your kids and then continue with your obligations.
- Make plans of chores and errands. Busy parents waste a loft of their free time on chores and errands. To avoid this, sit down with your partners and make a plan of chores and errands. write down the tasks and stick to them. That way, you’ll ensure that all household tasks are done on time. Additional two cents: go grocery shopping early in the morning on workdays, if possible, to avoid traffics jams and crowds in supermarkets.
- Include kids in family activities. Children like to help with chores and other family activities. Give them assignments and change them from time to time. They’ll enjoy being part of something important and you’ll deal with all those things efficiently.
- Handle complex tasks first
This hack applies equally to your family duties and work tasks.
Postponing complex tasks leads to reduce productivity in the long run.
Because of that, make a list of priorities and follow this roadmap to complete all your objectives.
When it comes to work, start every workweek with a task list. Analyze all the things you have on your plate for that week and prioritize them. If you work in a team, talk to other team members and the team leader to see if they have any suggestions of preferences. Determine what tasks are more difficult and which ones are easier. If possible, make a rough estimate on the number of hours you’ll spend on each of those tasks.
Based on the factors above, you should be able to come up with a detailed schedule for an efficient workweek.
- Curb procrastination
You know that feeling when you get to your office (including home offices), sit in your chair full of energy and then do nothing for an hour or so.
A study conducted by rebootonline.com has shown that procrastination eats up about 122 minutes of our workday on average.
This is a bit more than 2 hours every day. When you add lunch and coffee breaks to this number, it turns out that many employees waste precious time doing almost nothing.
Working parents who want to become more productive need to curb procrastination.
For starters, limit yourself to spending 30 minutes a day on social media. You’ll stay in touch with people, but you won’t waste your time.
Also, avoid long coffee breaks and chitchats at work. Your personal schedule described above will help you focus on your tasks.
Finally, find a way to reward yourself at the end of the day. It can be going for a run, having beer with friends or watching a movie – whatever keeps you motivated.
If you apply the same procrastination-curbing and motivating tactic in your personal life, you’ll have a win-win situation.
- Spend time with your partner
Spending quality time together makes all family members feel better. You strengthen your bonds and have things to remember.
However, parents need to be aware that they should find time for each other, as well. The more positive energy they produce and share, the happier the entire family is.
Therefore, talk about different things that you could do together.
First and foremost, go out together at least once a week. Having a drink in the evening or spending a lunch break together can mean a world for busy parents.
Also, take part in fun activities together, as well. Going to the cinema or doing hobbies together are only some of the options.
Parents with older kids can go away for a few days, as well. Short trips will help you get out of the work-home routine and discover new things.
The key obstacle for most parents to achieve this goal is where to leave their kids. There are various childcare providers out there. Some even provide online nanny courses to give first-class education to nannies and governesses.
You can either opt for one of these professionals or ask grandparents to look after your kids.
- Work out every day
Physical exercise is often neglected when we’re talking about work productivity. If you walk at least 5 km every day, you’ll both feel better and reduce the risk of numerous diseases.
What’s more, you’ll be physically capable of handling more work.
In addition to daily walks or easy jogging, do stretching exercises every single day, especially if you spend a lot of time at the computer. You’ll prevent or alleviate back pain, increase your daily energy level, and keep your muscles in order.
If you can find time to go to the gym or attend some group training sessions, go for it. They’ll bring benefits to your mental and physical health, reducing stress and increasing work efficiency.
Having a job and being a parent means having dozens of microtasks every single day. If you don’t discipline yourself, you’ll be constantly tired and frustrated. The hacks shared in this article will help you find the best routine for your daily and weekly tasks. Also, you’ll have more time for your family because you’ll handle your work projects with flying colors. As a result, you’ll lead a full and happy life.