BALANCING FAMILY AND WORK

Is it possible to have a successful career and a raise a family at the same time? Yes—or, the answer depends on the perspective of the individual. At the least, it’s about what one really wants the most.

If we stick to facts, there are people who have ruined their marriages because of their careers and there are people who seem to have managed their careers and homes—despite the tasking nature of their jobs.

It’s easy to use work as an excuse to become a horrible husband and terrible father or a horrible wife and a terrible mother. I have often noticed that people who are horrible at home are not so different at work. The problem therefore does not lie so much in the job but in the person.

To balance work and family, there is definitely not a one size fits all piece of advice—as there are people whose jobs are actually so herculean it would take either a sacrifice of work or a sacrifice of family to make either work; however, these tips will only help the entrepreneur get a bearing towards finding the perfect balance between work and home.

1. Understand Self: A person must understand how he operates. Some entrepreneurs close work by 9pm. Ask them if they did anything productive between 6pm and 9pm and they will most probably say no—if they are being truthful. People like this love to hang the air of “I am busy”, and even when they get home, they bore their partners with boring stories of work. A little time-management might free up three hours from work—three valuable hours which can be used for family. Therefore, self must be understood to block the holes that waste one’s time at work.
2. Understand the Sacrifice: Business and career success involves a huge sacrifice of time. Family needs time. It’s a conflicting situation. Wisdom entails that one draws the line where one will allow work to interfere with home.
3. Be a Good Person: Some people just have foul habits like anger, distrusts, violence. Such habits wreck a home—most especially when the person is around a lot. A child whose father always throws temper tantrums will be much happier when the father isn’t around than when he is around.
4. Be Effective: Face it, when you constantly fall short of standard at work, you are bound to transfer some of the aggression to the home. An effective entrepreneur is a happy entrepreneur; a happy entrepreneur is a happy person and happy people are more likable than unhappy ones. Work to win both at home and at work.
5. Make the Decision: Sometimes, it gets impossible and one will feel like throwing in the towel. At these times, it’s mostly about the decisions we have made and the promises we must keep. Just as a business must be run with a vision, so must a home. The decision to build and raise a happy family no matter what happens might just be the last string that will keep one together when one is about to break.

If you want to really see what it takes balance family and work, I invite you to book a free coaching call with me.  Click here to book your spot and I look forward to speaking with you!