Tips to balance your work and family life.
October is National Work and Family
The Backpack
The burdens of our jobs are like a weight on our back, that weight can go home with us where it doesn’t belong, reducing our family focus. On the back of my office door is a hook for a jacket or hard hat. Before I go home each day, I look at that hook and metaphorically place the burdens of the day in a “backpack” and hang it on that hook and walk out that door and head home. It will be there just as I left it when I return to work the next day.
If while I’m home, a work burden attempts to hijack my thoughts away from my family, I say to myself “what’s that doing here, it’s in my backpack on my office door back at work!” and quit thinking about that. It helps to immediately talk with one of the members of my family, usually asking an engaging question such as “what was the best thing you did today?”
What time is it?
Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived wrote in Ecclesiastes there’s a time for specific things and a time to stop them. There is a time to work, and a time for family. Learn when, and how to stop work time, and start family time with your full attention to them.
“I wish I spent more time at work”…said no one, ever.
A recent survey of the elderly revealed the #1 regret in life was they wished they worked less and spent more time with their family, especially their kids. No one ever said, “I wish I spent more time working, and less time with my family.” Be intentional about knocking off work at the specified time, and spending quality and quantity time with your family. Proverbs 23:4 says don’t work so hard for more money, know when to stop and go home, because money will not buy back time with your kids.
Is it dinner time yet?
As a working parent, I made a commitment to be home for dinner with my family every night. I even told my boss my commitment, who made sure I left work on time. Our rules at dinner time were: No electronics during dinner time, and each person was to say one thing they liked or did good that day and could ask any question they wanted. It became such a popular part of our day, the kids would ask “Is it dinner time yet?”
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