Having a family is hard, it is a job on its own, and life can quickly spiral out of control with the pressures of work. For most of us, work is a financial necessity, without money, we can not pay the bills or buy that new school bag. Young parents have an even greater battle. Thoughts of progressing a career are outweighed by simply trying to keep the job. New parents watch others enviously as those with teenagers make parenthood look so easy. Remember that everyone with kids has been there.

Looking after kids properly and trying to manage a career is a not a race and it certainly is not a smooth run.
Some parents like to lord it over others and pretend that they have it under control. It is simply not true or possible to have a perfect family.

Exercise

One moment you are happily driving along, the next your shouting at the car in front for waiting too long for the lights to change. Stress has a way of snowballing quickly and is the first thing to address. It starts with looking after yourself, lifeguards have the same principle, how can you help anyone if you burn out. Eat
healthy food, try, and keep the vitamins up. If you look after your body properly your mind will follow in
kind. Exercise does an excellent job of releasing stress; a good workout does not even have to cost anything.
On a tight schedule, you can mix exercise in with other activities, but it is too much like economizing on free
time. A good workout needs focus and duration. Move far away from those little voices calling out every
five minutes with a request to change the television channel. Exercise is possibly the only thing that should
replace an hour of sleep. Working out gives a sense of accomplishment before the day starts and burns off
the anxiety of the day ahead. When it comes to sleep, the process is much faster and deeper, making the
mind sharper in the morning.

Laundry

It is a dirty word and no matter how much washing is hanging up to dry, it seems that an equal amount is waiting in the baskets to be cleaned. There is no getting around it, it must be done, and letting your kids go to school in smelly clothes is not an option. Most of us would happily give the job to someone else, but again that costs money. Parenting couples should take the chore in turns, it is the new millennium. Be considerate to the partner and the partner should show some respect back.
If a wash trip means going to a launderette, use the time. A laundry room produces the most perfect of white
noises, great for reading or getting on with work. If you plan it right, mix the laundry chore in with the
private time, do some exercise while you are waiting for the cycle to finish. Laundromats will often have a
gym nearby for that very purpose or see how many times you can run around the block while the machine is
doing its thing. Managing your time well is about amalgamating tasks; doing two or more things at once.
Babies are a full-time job; some are fine by themselves and sleep well through the night.

Cooking

Cooking for a family is another tough one, looking after the kids, working, and trying to make something
healthy to eat is difficult. The oven is our friend at dinner time, it will have a timer, and produce consistently
edible food if set up correctly. The oven gives a chance for a parent to do other things at the same time, such
as do the washing or a bit of time to prepare for the following workday. Electric ovens with timers are great
for cooking a roast, especially if it is going to take a couple of hours. If you work from home, a timer will
mean that you will not need to be checking the food every minute.
Food preparation needs to be quick and easy; every parent knows that there is limited time to spend on
presentation. Cooking food that will last a day or two makes an enormous difference in time spent in the
kitchen. Meats, pasta, and rice are all good, if not better the next day. Rice you need to be a little bit careful
with on reheating, but having food ready and waiting in the fridge will free up the schedule for your alone
time.

Creativity

Creativity comes naturally when trying to manage a family with work. This is another one of those things
that can be multi-tasked to make better use of the time. Few parents like schedules, one parent will make it
and expect the other to adhere to it, it is a perfect argument starter. The creativity comes with thinking on the
spot and choosing a task that will fit the time available. If all the regular chores are complete, flex your
brain, be creative. It does not matter if you are a terrible artist or bad at writing.
Make something in the day that you can be proud of. Work rarely gives anyone the sensation of
accomplishment, if it does, then congratulations. Find some paper and start sketching, this can be fun to do
with children, depending on what you are drawing. It is not a competition, start drawing the first thing that
comes into your head. If it feels like it is doing something start a little book for your daily doodles. The
creative part of the brain needs exercise as much as the physical part. Using a bit of imagination first thing in
the morning eases the mind from the stress of doing the family bit, into the mind-set of a work environment.

Shopping

Food shopping, not shopping at a mall, is a grind. Working for money is the same as selling your time to get

paid. It is better to make a list and get the groceries once a week, to save on time and money. Shopping takes
up a lot of time, with travel, queues, and unpacking. Taking a young baby and or kids at the same time must
be one of the most stressful scenarios ever created. Children are experts in adding to a basket without you
noticing. This leaves two choices; go alone with someone watching the children, or order over the internet to
get the shopping delivered to the door.
Families should go together to the supermarket. Shopping forces the child away from their computer games
and gives them a chance to choose things that they like to eat. The obvious negative is a shopping trolley full
of rubbish and pushing the final bill up. A trip to the supermarket does offer a chance for a busy family to
work together. Get the kids to help carry the bags, ask them to get things from the shelves.
Internet shopping is fine and will add precious hours to the week, time better used for other things. You can
also use it as an interactive tool to teach your children how the process works. 

Budget

No one wants to go back and look at the money they have spent each month. It is painful to see all that hard-
earned money disappear the second it hits the bank account. Unfortunately, earning money is a necessity and

so is spending it. A regular salary must satisfy all the bills, shopping, and other costs for the weeks, so that is
the starting point. Start by deducting regular costs from your total income, mortgage or rent, rates,
consumables. It would be unusual to see anything left at the end of the tally. Look a bit closer and see what
can change. If the telephone bill is huge, change the provider or use it less.

After School

After school activities, sound highly time-consuming, but think of them as budget babysitters. Anything that
gets a child moving or thinking, will use up a good portion of that growing energy, giving you a rest when
they get home. Try to plan activities for your child, use them to make time, and carry out tasks to and from
the activity. Make a trip out count, resist the urge to go out as a family every day and program certain days
of the week. Just make a basic list of things that need completing and keep it flexible so that they can be
applied to the trips.
Other parents can be an asset when it comes to a bit of free time. Remember you are not the only one trying
to balance out work and family. Looking after two children is not much more work than caring for three or
more. Take it in turns to look after each other’s kids, organize a sleep-over once a week. Even if it means
only getting rid of one of them for the night and keeping the baby, it makes a substantial difference.

Cleaning

Cleaning is unavoidable and needs constant tackling. You have just finished mopping and one of the kids
throws a cup of juice over the floor. This type of situation will occur as you sit down to get on with work.
Kids want attention and they do not understand why the parents can not give it to them all the time. If the
child is old enough, start by trying to explain that you work to earn. If the children are below the age of
understanding that mummy or daddy is about to melt, seek out help, either to watch the kids or to do the
cleaning for you.
Hire someone once a week to come in and do the big cleaning tasks like the bathrooms, kitchen, and
bedrooms. Cleaners are inexpensive, children will be less likely to mess up the place if someone else has
done the cleaning. Make a point to your child, on respecting the efforts put in by a stranger to sort out their
mess.

Sleep

It is not possible to work effectively when you are sleep deprived, the body and mind need downtime,
otherwise, they will both quit at the wrong moment. A routine, not a schedule, is good to have in place. It is
not always possible to organize everyone, so choose the path of least resistance; least stress. Perform daily
chores at night for half-an-hour before going to bed, it relieves some of the anxiety of leaving it till the next
day. A good night’s sleep leads to a productive day at work and a happier life at home. The question is how
to get decent sleep with only 24 hours in the day.
Exercise and sleep go hand in hand, the more exercise you do the more solidly you will sleep. Stress levels
need to be right down to get a good night. That is partly why a little bit of activity, such as cleaning before
bed, points the focus away from other problems. Sleep is the time for the mind and body to access, rebuild,
and recharge. If left to run on empty, it will start to affect your health. Most jobs require a sharp mind to
perform, and that means sleep.

Job

It really comes down to the hours and the category of work you belong to. If you are an independent worker,
then it is a little easier to be flexible with the schedule. If the hours are put in, you will get paid. A fixed
routine job is going to be less flexible, even with the best boss in the world, turning up late every day equals
a short career. Working is about having the time, to focus and to earn money. With a family to support,
choices are limited, you can either change the way you work or change where you work. At the same time,
the stress of juggling all these balls in the air at the same time needs to be addressed.
Talk to the boss, if you are about to start a family, keep the boss informed so that they know why you are
behaving differently. If the boss has children, there is a good chance that the boss has been through the same
traumas. Explain to them, that you are struggling to get everything done in a day, and that you are trying to
get more organized. The company might also accept you on as a part-time role, or a mix-and-match of
working from home. It is worth asking even the most hardened of employers, but if it is not going to work
then it may be time for a change.

The Next Step

Having a family is a wonderful thing, unconditional love, and support when times are tough. It is fun to go
on swings with the excuse that it is for the child’s development. As a new parent, it is hard to balance work
and life in such a way that it becomes manageable. We all have unhealthy habits, from before we were

parents, that take up valuable time. Social media is the thief of time, along with procrastination. Give the
mobile phone a rest or at least a time limit every day. All forms of social media are addictive and huge time
wasters, if you need to use them, stay focused and get out when you have finished what you need to do.
Look after yourself, the single most important piece of advice. Change the way you live to get better sleep
with the same amount of time available. Turn time spent on poor habits on to creating healthy ones.
Discover the secrets to maximizing the time you have for yourself and required to stay relaxed. No one
wants to be around a sleep-deprived grouch, especially not at work, everyone has their own problems. Look
for ways to improve your diet and those of the family. Feed your children foods with less sugar and
chemicals, a hyperactive child spells the end of any productivity at home. The final and greatest step is to see
what you can do about changing the way you work and reclaim some quality of life.