While I’m not sure how it’s already this time of year again, balancing work and family during the holiday season can be a challenge. Add a pandemic and everybody working from home and it may seem impossible to get any work done at all. On the flip side, you may be working too much and are unable to spend as much time with family as you would like. That’s why today I’m sharing my best tips on how to balance work and family during the holiday season.
Plan Ahead
Planning ahead is so important during this time of year. If you have visitors coming, knowing what date and time they arrive and planning out the work you need to get done before then can help you stay one step ahead.
Look ahead at future work. Instead of just doing what needs to be done in the here and now, plan to get work done in advance. That way, you’ll have plenty of extra time to spend with your loved ones.
Take Five
Whether it be from your work or from your family, taking five minutes away can help keep your spirits up. It will also help you balance your work and family during this hectic time of year.
Take five minutes from your work to have coffee with your wife or walk the dog with your kids. Tell your family you need to step away for five minutes to finish up an email but that you’ll be back in time for dinner.
Little moments like these can make all the difference during the holiday season.
Unplug
Choose a day of the week where you can completely unplug from your phone, emails and work. Being completely unplugged can change time spent with family into quality time spent with family.
Have everyone in the family do this, too! That way everyone isn’t sitting around the table scrolling on their phones. They’re enjoying the holidays together talking, playing games and eating holiday foods.
Set Expectations
Setting expectations with your family and your boss will help you easily balance work and family during the holidays. Letting your family know ahead of time when you’ll be working and when you’ll have off will help avoid any disappointments.
On the other hand, knowing the expectations of your boss during this time of year and your boss knowing the days you will be taking off (and that you won’t be answering emails and calls during that time) will help take the stress away and ease your bosses mind as well.
Schedule in Time
Be sure to actually schedule in time to do family activities. This could be putting up the tree, baking cookies or enjoying a big family dinner. Knowing when you have plans can help you schedule your work schedule around those family activities.
The holidays can be a very stressful time of year, but hopefully these simple tips help you relax with the ones you love most.
Happy Holidays!
-mk
