Want to spend more time with your family and less time at work?

January 8, 2020

Do you want to spend more time with your family and less time at work? Do you want to go on weekend excursions with the kids, have date nights with your partner, and go out for dinner with your friends? Want to exercise regularly, have more time to relax, read books, and binge-watch shows?

These are loaded questions, I know. Perhaps the better questions to ask are, what work tasks are you responsible for that could or should be someone else's responsibility, and how much of your personal time do you spend working? 

As a working mom, you likely have far more responsibilities than you have time. You are probably also doing more than you should or need to be. Unfortunately, this not only limits the time you have with your family, but it also sets you up for potentially feeling resentful, frustrated, burned-out, and exhausted. 

Before you can make any long-term and impactful changes, you first need to figure out what work tasks you are doing that you should no longer be doing or can be taken over by someone else. Start by asking yourself these three questions:

1.    What am I doing for others that they can or should be doing for themselves?

2.   If I was suddenly out of the office and unavailable for two weeks, which of my responsibilities would others be able to manage with relative ease?

3.    What am I doing that requires a significant amount of my time, but is not my responsibility?

Your answers to these questions identify which responsibilities others can or should be doing instead of you. Relinquishing yourself from them will take some strategic planning, yes, but afterward, you will benefit in (at least) three ways.

First, you will have more time at work to do what you have been doing at night and on the weekends. Second, you will have more time to spend with your family, friends, and even yourself too. And third, you will have a healthier work-life balance and be more likely to experience greater satisfaction, focus, enthusiasm, and motivation at work.

Life as a working mom is busy, and while it is essential that you meet all of your work responsibilities, it is just as important to work at having a healthy work-life balance. Keep asking yourself these three questions and be discerning about how you spend your time, especially when feeling like your work-life balance is becoming imbalanced.

To learn strategies that will help you spend more time with your family and less time at work, click here and get your free 4-step guide, Effectively Managing Your Workday.