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How to Find the Balance Between Family and Career

Life-Work balance is important.

By Nikkita BravoPublished 2 years ago 4 min read
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How to Find the Balance Between Family and Career
Photo by Kornél Máhl on Unsplash

Whose career is at the forefront - yours or your partner's? How much do you have to sacrifice for your family career and who usually makes the biggest sacrifice? What is it like to be the only parent? What to choose between family and work?

It seems impossible at first, but there are things you can do to find a balance between family and career.

Work-life balance differs from person to person, being, however, an approach to contemporary existence that comes in an attempt to resolve the increasingly common conflict between personal life (with all that includes: family, friends, or just the need free time) and career.

Of course, everyone's priorities differ depending on several factors, including age, which can completely change an employee's vision.

Thus, if you are between 20 and 35 years old, you may have established strong commitments to build a solid career, leaving family life in the background. On the other hand, if you are between 35 and 50 years old, the emphasis may be more on family life and personal activities, which were not present in other stages of life.

No matter what you need to do to achieve this balance, it is vital that you set it as your goal.

Some suggestions:

Find out what your values ​​are and set your priorities. Try to see how important things are in your life - work, family, friends, other things you value.

Try this exercise:

Write down as many values ​​as you can think of, choose the most important 10 of them, in descending order. Then, with your partner or friend, start comparing 10 with 9, 9 with 8, up with 2 with 1.

Pay attention to what you feel you can give up. If in doubt, try to see what it would be like to give up the other value.

You can discuss the choices with the other person, but the advantage of this exercise is that it helps you make your choices in a rational and cerebral way. Your partner should be careful about your attempts, but not comment or oppose your choices. Convince the other person to do the exercise, as well.

Normally, the order of the values ​​changes. You can do this exercise regularly because your priorities are constantly changing.

Establish and adhere to the limits of the company, by the priorities you have set. This seems to limit your work since it is one of the most unlimited commitments. But that can also mean drawing boundaries around the time you spend working for others, which excludes your own needs. Those who think long and hard enough to set boundaries can have successful careers, minimizing outbursts, stress, and guilt.

How to set boundaries:

Set several hours that you are willing to spend at work and only exceed in special situations and that require extra hours.

Dedicate yourself to other activities in your free time: join a club, an organization or arrange regular meetings with friends.

Take time to be with your family, do what you brought home from work while they have other activities so that you can spend your free time together.

Learn to say NO to extra work and other less important things in your life.

Try to solve your problems with your partner. Open and sincere communication is essential because it is an opportunity to overcome differences and focus on what connects you. Both partners need to compromise to reach an agreement.

Try to negotiate with your partner whose career comes first. The family must alternate the roles of husband and wife. A sacrifice made for the other can help both in the future.

Change perspective. Look back. You have made changing decisions, you have relied on current attitudes… Learn from mistakes and see where you are at the moment. Think that in the next moment you would not be … What else would you have done and regret that it happened or not? Probably many Take the initiative and make the necessary changes in your life.

There are no perfect solutions in a world full of compromises and commitments… But if the decisions they make are made from a sincere drive to find solutions that fit your values, the result will at least satisfy you. If things go wrong, at least you try, and now you have the opportunity to change what went wrong.

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