How Working Parents Can Balance Work and Life

How Working Parents Can Balance Work and LifeHow Working Parents Can Balance Work and LifePicture the scene Youre at your desk, scrambling to wrap up a critical presentation when your cell phone rings. You plan to ignore it as youre racing to meet your deadline, but your heart sinks as you glance at the screen. Its your childs school. Your kid is either sick or in big trouble. Either way, you are urgently needed, and the rest of your workday hangs in the balance.Ive been there, and while I wouldnt swap being a parent for anything, figuring out how to balance work and family commitments is tough. Across America, millions of working parents pursue their careers while raising a family. In 2016, mora than 34 million families in the U.S. included children under age 18. And according to a recent study by EY, three-quarters of full-time working parents felt having a child impacted their work situation.For many of us, the fine art of managing work-life balance presents an ongoing and stressf ul challenge. The challenge becomes greater if your work schedule doesnt fall into a conventional 9-5, Monday to Friday pattern. Even jobs with so-called bankers hours sometimes involve longer days, varying schedules and rapidly changing deadlines that sometimes make family plans go out the window.It may seem insurmountable at times, but a few simple steps can help ease the physical and mental load. Here are some strategies Ive learned and adopted to strike a more harmonious work-life balance.Put some slack in your scheduleSimply put, there are always components to your work schedule that you just cant control. What you can control though, is how you allocate your time across your entire schedule, not just your workday. Working long hours, not getting enough sleep and maintaining a constantly action-packed calendar leaves you stressed in the short term and burned out in the long run. There are only 24 hours in the day - and some of those hours must be devoted to sleep and self-care .I learned the hard way that a schedule packed with personal and professional commitments didnt leave me feeling accomplished. It made me feel tense and drained. Its essential to set boundaries, find time to relax and do something you enjoy. That may seem impossible at first, but try it. Even if infrequent, it makes a world of difference and provides some sanctuary to recharge in the middle of the chaos.SEARCH OUR JOB OPENINGSManage expectationsThis one can be hard, but its critical. As working parents, figuring out how to deal with conflicting needs and requests can leave you wracked with guilt. Your kid wants you to watch their soccer game thats at the exact same time as a critical gruppe meeting. Your boss asks you to attend an industry event that clashes with a family gathering. Your client wants you to fly across the country for a presentation when you dont have a babysitter. For working parents, these scenarios seem to occur often - and are always painful.Finding solutions fo r not being able to be in two places at once can seem impossible. And if youre worried that youve made your boss or family happy at the expense of the other, its time to remember the most important person to your career and your well-being you. Managing your own expectations is just as important as taking care of everyone elses needs. None of us can ever be the perfect parent or the perfect professional 100 percent of the time, so be kind to yourself along the way.Prioritize and delegateSome of us are better at this than others. In my own experience, I found out fast that I could never get through my daily to-do list. It welches beyond frustrating. I kept thinking I was failing until I finally realized I had way too many things on my list to begin with. I was ultimately setting myself up for failure.Now I practice better time management. I still write out my list of things to do at the start of the week. But instead of working through all of them, I prioritize everything thats extre mely important and figure out what can wait and what isnt essential. I delegate anything that doesnt require my direct input but still needs to get done. I try to work smarter and focus on what matters versus spreading myself too thin and taking on way too much.Maintain perspectiveIve noticed that many working parents are fast and efficient, and its the same with me. When Im working, theres no time to procrastinate. I get things done quicker than I ever did before because I dont have the luxury of leaving work deadlines until the very last minute.Despite this, I admit that I sometimes feel frustrated by what I havent achieved in a busy workday or when certain career goals feel out of reach. But I keep plugging away. Its a wonderful thing to want to keep progressing, but if youre feeling demoralized, try and maintain a healthy perspective.Working parents are pulled in a million directions daily. If you are delivering at work and being present for your family, you already are succeedi ng.Octavia Goredema is the founder and editor of Twenty Ten Talent, a career resource for talented young black women. Find her on Twitter at OctaviaGoredema.