Although my kids are grown now, I definitely struggled with the finding a good balance between my freelance business and raising a busy family. Lately, several friends and family members have asked me advice on how I found that balance, so when a guest writer requested to share her tips on this dynamic, I took a look at her article and decided to share. Her tips make sense and work well.
One tip from me…don’t expect perfection in either area. Some days you will nail the parenting gig and feel like you a dropped a ball at work. Other days you may struggle with the kid demands but ace the big professional project. And you will have days when you nail it all. Go you! Take your vitamins! Life is a series of push and pull and situations are not black and white, but rather grey on most days.
Read the helpful tips below, but give yourself a break, too. My mantra: if your priorities are in order, things will fall into place…and on the days they don’t, try to have a sense of humor and push on. Life is an adventure! Take a look at today’s guest author’s tips on finding the work family balance. PS – they do grow up fast. Someday the tough balancing act thing will also pass. But in the meantime…
Today’s guest writer says:
The idea of running a business when you’re trying to raise a family might seem a little crazy. But running your own business could actually be one of the best ways to support your family while still getting to spend a lot of time with them. When you’re in charge, you often get to be more flexible about when and where you get your work done. You can fit your business and your family life around each other so that both are able to grow and flourish. If you’re not convinced, here are some of the things you might do to make sure that you can meet your goals in both areas.
Choose Something You Can Run from Home
Firstly, you need to choose the right business to fit around your family. Not all businesses are going to be the best option. Anything that means you have to travel a lot could be a bad fit for you, but if you can find a work from home franchise opportunity that you’re interested in, it could be perfect. If you can run a business from home, it often means you can take care of various tasks while you’re out and about too. You’ll have the flexibility to work when and where you want.
Make Sure You Have Help
No one can do everything on their own. If you want to fit a business around your family life, you need to have help in both areas. You have to make sure you have support so that you’re not trying to do everything alone. In your personal life, that might mean ensuring you’re not the only one doing the housework or that you have people to look after the kids when you’re working. For your business, it could mean hiring people to help you or outsourcing some work so you don’t have to do it all yourself.
Create a Flexible Routine
Creating a good routine is one way to keep control of your family life. It can help to keep things calm, even if you’re not always able to follow it exactly. The same can be said for a routine at work, and creating one for your business could be equally good at helping you to get things done. A daily or weekly routine can give you some guidance so you know what you want to do, even if you sometimes have to make some adjustments to how you use your time.
Make Time for Self-Care
Raising a family and running a business are both very stressful. So if you’re doing both at the same time, you should take the time to look after yourself. Self-care is important and helps you to ensure you stay on an even keel. You can’t be constantly “on” all the time, so make sure that you plan some time into your day or week when you can do something for yourself, even if it’s small.
Fitting a business around your family life is possible if you can organize your time well. With the right support, you can achieve your goals in both areas. The idea of running a business when you’re trying to raise a family might seem a little crazy. But running your own business could actually be one of the best ways to support your family while still getting to spend a lot of time with them. When you’re in charge, you often get to be more flexible about when and where you get your work done. You can fit your business and your family life around each other so that both are able to grow and flourish. If you’re not convinced, here are some of the things you might do to make sure that you can meet your goals in both areas.
This helpful parenting article is a collaborative sponsored post and may contain affiliate links.
