Twenty-first-century parents who work outside the home face a unique set of challenges. Not only are they more determined to create a happy childhood for their children than any generation before, they’re also trying to carve their way in the working world, and as a result they’re more stressed than ever. Here are five strategies that might help you get a handle on your juggle struggle.
1. Find out about Flexitime
More and more businesses are realising the benefits of flexible work arrangements for their staff, since traffic and the hours spent commuting can contribute to working parents’ feelings of stress and anxiety. Not all companies are able to accommodate a request for flexitime, but there is no harm in asking management to reconsider their terms of employment. Whether you ask for a shift of at-office times or even to work from home for a day or two a week, the change can have significant benefits for your quality of life – and that of your family.
2. Be Prepared
Rushing from pillar to post, sorting out school activities and lunchboxes and trying not to forget extramurals and events can all take a toll on you. The key to keeping a handle on school stress? Be prepared! A physical calendar with every family member’s activities and appointments is vital for keeping an eye on everyone’s movements, while for older kids an app like Cozi can help with teenagers taking more responsibility for expectations at school. Online grocery shopping can help with ensuring meals and lunchboxes are sorted – and preparing meals for the week on the weekend can take the stress out of the ‘what’s for supper?’ dilemma.
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3. Share the Load
Studies show we’re becoming more isolated than ever, despite having more on our plates than ever. Want to feel less stressed? Pick up the phone, make that call or form a WhatsApp group and ask for help, or or ask n how you can help a fellow working parent. Lift schemes, cooking clubs (where families cook double for each other to save each other time), grannies and grandpas sharing their wisdom at homework time or getting the kids involved in chores are all ways we can help one another and lighten the load.
4. Be Present
It sounds counterintuitive, but multitasking can actually be part of the juggle-struggle problem, not a solution. When we’re distracted we don’t always complete tasks properly or listen to instruction correctly, which means that further down the line we may need to go back to the beginning and do it all over again. This means making a concerted effort to really focus on what needs to be done at the time – switching off your phone when sitting down to compile an important document at work or committing to a 10- or 20-minute catch-up with each child – no interruptions allowed.
5. Get Enough Sleep
Internationally renowned journalist turned sleep crusader Arianna Huffington and author of The Sleep Revolution talks about the lack-of-sleep epidemic happening today. She cites the technology revolution, crazy working hours and unrealistic lifestyle expectations as some of the causes of sleep deprivation. And when you’ve got a lot going on and aren’t getting enough sleep – stress and illness unfortunately often follow. Huffington is a proponent of no phones in the bedroom, of creating comfortable sleep-centric zones and of being religious about getting your seven to nine hours of sleep a night. If it works for Bill Gates (who gets seven hours of sleep a night), it should surely work for you!
Images: iStock; Becca Tapert on Unsplash
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