Find a way to be successful and enjoy your family.
By Jennifer Paulson
Whether your kids are tiny tots or teens, balancing your job as a trainer and business owner with your family can be a tough row to hoe. Here are a few tips that might help you find more balance—or at least a sense of sanity—in the endeavor.
- Hold family meetings. A weekly family gathering can ensure that everyone is on the same page for what’s happening that week, from doctor appointments to horse shows. During the meeting, make intentional check-ins with each child to see how they’re doing and what they might be nervous or excited about in the week to come.
- Make a family calendar. It might be best to go week-by-week for an ever-changing family calendar, but a bigger picture can be helpful in the grand scheme, too. Your calendar can take shape during your family meetings. There are many ways to build this tracker—it can be a group text with all events of the week, a paper calendar kept on the fridge or somewhere everyone will look, or an online calendar (your email provider probably offers one).
- Work in blocks. Breaking your day into sections can make things seem less overwhelming and also make the most of your time. For example, tackle things that require your complete focus during the hours your kids are in school or day care. It might work to conduct computer work during your kids’ homework block. These blocks will help you set a schedule and put boundaries in place that help you manage your time and relationships.
- Hire or trade help. Do you have a youth rider who you could trade an extra lesson for some babysitting? Or a customer who has a daycare who’d barter some child care for board? Just a few hours a week of extra help can free up larger blocks of time for you to be with your family.
- Bring in family. During exceptionally busy times, it might help to fly your parents or in-laws in for some quality time with the grandkids. Or maybe flying the kids to the grandparents is a better idea for your situation. Either way, at least you’ll have peace of mind knowing your kids are with loved ones when you’re spread as thinly as you can be.
Expect bumps. There will be days you’ll get less done—probably many of them. There will be things you miss or forget. There will be times when the TV takes over as a longtime babysitter. Expect these trips off track and cut yourself slack. You can’t give your kids or your business your best when you’re wallowing.
