Balancing Work and Family Getting a job is the first good step in building your own lifestyle, but now you'll have to learn to how to balance work, family and maybe even school. The following is a variety of helpful hints, facts and suggestions that we hope will help you balance your time more effectively. Some Basic Truths About Time Management There are only 24 hours a day despite how hard we sometimes try to stretch this. Work, family and personal time are integrally and inseparably essential to effective overall time management. Like it or not, life has deadlines. These deadlines take priority over non-deadlines. We all have "dreads", those things that we purely hate to do, whether at work, home or for ourselves. These will vary among individuals. "Dreads" tend to be things put aside for later, which may not be appropriate; one needs to know one's dreads. Work Considerations The average work week is 41 hours long. An additional 8-10 hours of overtime per week can be considered normal. Individuals are also working more intensively while working longer hours. It is often difficult to say no when we want to be seen as a team player. Work has become central to who we are, the way we identify ourselves to others. When the outside world gets crazy, we turn to what we can control, our work. Women work an average of 65 hours per week when they have full-time jobs, plus the added responsibility of taking care of their families. Family Considerations Each member of the family may have his or her own schedule. Getting all of the schedules coordinated at times can be virtually impossible. Boundaries between home and work have been compromised due to computers, beepers, fax machines & e-mail. School Considerations With school you at least have the ability to schedule when you take classes, and how many classes you think you will be able to handle in addition to all your other responsibilities. Remember that there is always homework that goes along with the classes you take, so don't put yourself in an overwhelming situation. If you do take a heavy load of classes, be prepared to commit yourself to the extra study time you'll need. Suggestions on How to Balance it All Change what you can. Focus only on the changes that you can control. Set priorities and stick to them. Divide overwhelming tasks into smaller, more manageable tasks. Allow for flexibility. Being too rigid in the way you approach a task or a certain situation may increase your stress and frustration level. Stay on the same page with your boss. Schedule meetings to discuss how your goals and priorities fit into the company's plans. Discuss ways that you can work more effectively together and not against each other. Hopefully your other family members will be willing to help you get your tasks accomplished at home. There may be some ways that you can "double up" on your tasks. Here are several small examples that each save at least some time. When you have to go on errands for school or family try to combine having to go to the library, the laundry or the grocery store in one trip. This can save you travel time. You may be able to do a special study or report for your job that could also be used in an English or other related class at school. If possible, use your break time or lunch hour to finish off other tasks. If you become too overwhelmed, you may need to rethink your priorities and slow down a bit. Try to remember what your long term goals are and stay focused on them. Remember that each small task you accomplish gets you that much closer to your long term goal. "A journey of a thousand miles begins with but a single step." Mahatma Ghandi

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