10 Ways to Put Your Family First Over Work

Parents work to support their families by providing food, shelter and hopefully a comfortable lifestyle. Unfortunately, this usually means both parents are working and the demands of their jobs often take precedence over time spent with their family. The almighty paycheck often takes control forcing the rest of the family into the back seat. It’s easy to lose sight of the reason you’re working so hard to begin with; to provide for your family. Here are 10 ways to put your family first over work and keep them there.

1. Family night – A regularly scheduled family night is must. Hopefully this can be done at least once a week. Set aside this special time committed to your family and don’t waiver. Whether you go out or stay home, spending time together is all that matters.
2. Prioritize – Make a concerted effort to set priorities and write them down. Then when you’re faced with making a decision regarding your family or work, you have guidelines to go by.
3. Checklist – It’s also a good idea to make a checklist of things you need to do for your family every day. You already know what you need to get done at work, so make it just as important to get your family commitments done also.
4. Get permission – When faced with a dilemma of work or family, get them to help you make the decision. If you need to work late and miss your daughter’s basket ball game, you’ll feel much less guilty if you have her permission first.
5. Make rules – Have the whole family make a set of rules and stick by them. Kids need to follow the rules so parents should be held accountable also. Also make sure the punishment fits the crime.
6. Set boundaries – If a clear cut set of rules won’t work for your situation, at least set some boundaries. Limit the hours of work per week, or a minimum number of days off per month. This way you can have some flexibility with limits.
7. Reevaluate – If your work is continually taking priority over your family, perhaps it’s time to reevaluate your situation. Perhaps you shouldn’t have taken that last promotion or you need to find a job that’s less demanding.
8. Get your boss involved – Make sure your boss or supervisor knows that family comes first. They’re likely to be more understanding than you think. Almost everyone else has family obligations to contend with, and will only take advantage of workers that let them.
9. Flex time – If you have a job that doesn’t require you to have set hours, see if you can set up a flexible time schedule. This way you can schedule your job around your family instead of the other way around. It shouldn’t matter what time you’re working as long as you get the job done on time.
10. Work from home – You may even be able to set it up so you can work from home. If this doesn’t fit with your current employment, maybe you can find other work that does allow you to work from your home. There are endless possibilities for people with the self discipline to do it.

For many people, their job is an important part of their life, but it shouldn’t take priority over family. Finding that balance in your life is so important. There’s only one first birthday and nobody has the promise of tomorrow to do what didn’t get done today. You can never regret the decision to put your family first over work.

Taken From Live-in Nanny