20 tips to (finally) balance family and work
7 June 2010
Read by 1613 persons
We perform small miracles every day. Balancing professional and family life is not without difficulty. Here are, without pretension, some tips to try to keep control of a situation where balance is precarious, unforeseen circumstances are numerous, and the days are both too short ("Darn, I didn't manage to do everything in 24 hours!") and too long ("Can't wait for my bed!").
Making reserves
1 Buy in large quantities certain products, such as garbage bags, toilet paper, laundry detergent, cleaning products, etc. Making these purchases is not as pleasant as buying beautiful heels, but being out of stock is even less so... especially when the little one screams from the bathroom: "Mom, there's no more paper!"
2 Think, during the year, about birthdays and official holidays. Let's admit that you have to be slightly manic to buy a gift in June for December 25th. But why not do it if you see something interesting on sale? You will congratulate yourself while others are caught up in the madness of last-minute shopping. Also plan a good supply of wrapping paper, greeting cards and adhesive tape.
3 Prepare for the invariable lack of erasers, glue sticks, pencils, etc., during the year, by keeping a small reserve to avoid a catastrophic detour to the pharmacy on a stormy evening.
4 Cook in large quantities. Meal preparation is a colossal and demanding task that must be accomplished every day. Why not double, triple or even quadruple the recipes? You will thus have enough for lunches and other meals of the week. You can also freeze some of it for busy weeks and refer to the recipes in your magazine!
Getting a head start
5 Do more than one assignment. Our children generally have a list of lessons and homework to do at the beginning of the week. We do a little more in anticipation of soccer practice on Thursday evening, for example.
6 Get the indispensable slow cooker. Coming home breathless and being enveloped in the delicious aromas of lemon and olive chicken is a balm on the guilt-stricken heart of an overwhelmed mother. Bonus: a ton of dishes... less.
7 Limit your travel. Why complicate your life by subscribing to a training center too far from home? Why not arrange with another family for the transport of children to their activities?
8 Do your shopping once a week. To achieve this, you must not forget anything and not lack anything. You must plan your meals, check which products are running out and make a list.
Simplifying life
9 Get the services of a cleaning lady once a month for washing the oven, refrigerator, cupboards, drawers, windows, etc.
10 Take shortcuts. Why insist on making your own pesto, hummus or pizza dough? From time to time, it's good to buy frozen supermarket meals or dishes prepared by the "restaurant-grocery store" around the corner.
11 Get a remote starter. So practical on frosty winter mornings.
12 Take care of the paperwork. (school papers, bills, etc.) as you go. You tell yourself you'll take care of it later and, invariably, you forget...
Creating combinations.
13 Combine the little one's dance class with weekly grocery shopping. While one dances, the other spends...
14 Fold your laundry while watching your favorite TV show. Indirect benefit: you feel less guilty since you're not sitting around doing nothing.
15 Use the children's "video game permission" evening to tackle a maximum of tasks or to simply relax.
16 Be ingenious. The béchamel sauce intended for the chicken could also be used for the tortellini in pink sauce. 17 Demand help from other family members. In doing so, you empower your children and relieve yourself of some of the chores.
Thinking ahead.
18 Plan the week's meals. This is a disconcertingly obvious piece of advice. You realize its importance when, lacking inspiration, you only plan one or two, a highly unpleasant situation when the kids start crying: "Mom, I'm hungry!" and you answer: "Tonight, kids, you'll have breakfast for dinner! Who wants cereal?"
19 Visualize appointments, classes, meetings of the week using a family calendar (a monthly chart). It's a matter of mentally sketching a game plan: "The leftovers from Monday will be used for Thursday's meal while I'm at my yoga class."
20 Do household chores during the week to avoid having to sacrifice your Saturday to cleaning the bathroom and dusting, and instead be able to dedicate it to your children
Published on May 25, 2010
Posted online on June 7, 2010
espace parents
Making reserves
1 Buy in large quantities certain products, such as garbage bags, toilet paper, laundry detergent, cleaning products, etc. Making these purchases is not as pleasant as buying beautiful heels, but being out of stock is even less so... especially when the little one screams from the bathroom: "Mom, there's no more paper!"
2 Think, during the year, about birthdays and official holidays. Let's admit that you have to be slightly manic to buy a gift in June for December 25th. But why not do it if you see something interesting on sale? You will congratulate yourself while others are caught up in the madness of last-minute shopping. Also plan a good supply of wrapping paper, greeting cards and adhesive tape.
3 Prepare for the invariable lack of erasers, glue sticks, pencils, etc., during the year, by keeping a small reserve to avoid a catastrophic detour to the pharmacy on a stormy evening.
4 Cook in large quantities. Meal preparation is a colossal and demanding task that must be accomplished every day. Why not double, triple or even quadruple the recipes? You will thus have enough for lunches and other meals of the week. You can also freeze some of it for busy weeks and refer to the recipes in your magazine!
Getting a head start
5 Do more than one assignment. Our children generally have a list of lessons and homework to do at the beginning of the week. We do a little more in anticipation of soccer practice on Thursday evening, for example.
6 Get the indispensable slow cooker. Coming home breathless and being enveloped in the delicious aromas of lemon and olive chicken is a balm on the guilt-stricken heart of an overwhelmed mother. Bonus: a ton of dishes... less.
7 Limit your travel. Why complicate your life by subscribing to a training center too far from home? Why not arrange with another family for the transport of children to their activities?
8 Do your shopping once a week. To achieve this, you must not forget anything and not lack anything. You must plan your meals, check which products are running out and make a list.
Simplifying life
9 Get the services of a cleaning lady once a month for washing the oven, refrigerator, cupboards, drawers, windows, etc.
10 Take shortcuts. Why insist on making your own pesto, hummus or pizza dough? From time to time, it's good to buy frozen supermarket meals or dishes prepared by the "restaurant-grocery store" around the corner.
11 Get a remote starter. So practical on frosty winter mornings.
12 Take care of the paperwork. (school papers, bills, etc.) as you go. You tell yourself you'll take care of it later and, invariably, you forget...
Creating combinations.
13 Combine the little one's dance class with weekly grocery shopping. While one dances, the other spends...
14 Fold your laundry while watching your favorite TV show. Indirect benefit: you feel less guilty since you're not sitting around doing nothing.
15 Use the children's "video game permission" evening to tackle a maximum of tasks or to simply relax.
16 Be ingenious. The béchamel sauce intended for the chicken could also be used for the tortellini in pink sauce. 17 Demand help from other family members. In doing so, you empower your children and relieve yourself of some of the chores.
Thinking ahead.
18 Plan the week's meals. This is a disconcertingly obvious piece of advice. You realize its importance when, lacking inspiration, you only plan one or two, a highly unpleasant situation when the kids start crying: "Mom, I'm hungry!" and you answer: "Tonight, kids, you'll have breakfast for dinner! Who wants cereal?"
19 Visualize appointments, classes, meetings of the week using a family calendar (a monthly chart). It's a matter of mentally sketching a game plan: "The leftovers from Monday will be used for Thursday's meal while I'm at my yoga class."
20 Do household chores during the week to avoid having to sacrifice your Saturday to cleaning the bathroom and dusting, and instead be able to dedicate it to your children
Published on May 25, 2010
Posted online on June 7, 2010
espace parents
