Five Crucial Points For Managing Work And Family Simultaneously

The old saying tells us that the best laid plans of mice and men will fail. While a mouse might not really lead a complicated life, it nevertheless seems impossible for us to plan our busy lives around our family and work without some of those unexpected “days off” attributable to illness, weather or teacher training!

It would be really nice if everything and everyone were flexible, including schedules and you could just drop everything without notice to care for your ill child.

1. If you can – plan. It’s true that some of these days are unpredictable, but others may be scheduled ahead of time. The weather is always unpredictable of course, but snow days will only be expected during certain months of the year and inset days are almost always planned in advance, so with a bit of work, they can be placed in a schedule.

Sick days present the biggest problem of all, of course. You should do a little bit of planning and preparation work in full anticipation that this day will surely come! If planning really is a problem for you, consider professional coaching to help you get on that track.

2. Save up your personal days. If both parents or adults in the household have regular work commitments, it’s important to try and reserve some personal days for the inevitable sick calling. Many employers these days grant a certain amount of personal days and you should talk to your Human Resources department and your line manager as you try to anticipate these scenarios.

In many cases you will not have any advance notice, so you need to look at this from every perspective and try and be fair all around.

Whichever way you look at it, there’s no denying that it helps matters if you and your partner have a sympathetic employer. It is very important that you do not use personal or sick standby days for any reasons other than they’re intended for.

3. Set up some favours. Come up with a backup plan if you have several children that you are responsible for. In an emergency, maybe you can rely on some care giving help from friends or good neighbours? Always repay these favours in any way you can. With a number of emergency backup plans in place, you’ll be able to cope when a sick child or three comes to you.

4. Roll out the vitamins. When you are coping with sick children, remember that you should pay attention to prevention as it is a lot easier than the cure. Teach your children good personal hygiene, that they should eat well, should rest well and be in good health at all times, as they will be less likely to fall victim to those annoying, smaller viruses.

5. Be a good weather forecaster. Always keep a watchful eye on the forecasts during the winter months. These days they are generally much more reliable and if you can see the threat of a blizzard a couple of days ahead, start making contingency plans accordingly. If a school district is closed, it might be very difficult for you to get to your work location as well, but if the office is open, see if you can count on one of those personal days or plan to work from home.

You might think you have to wear so many different hats, that you never know which one to put on.

Nowadays, online life coaching can really help you work out which part of your wardrobe to turn to on each occasion! If you’re in need of guidance, coaching for women can help you to manage and not panic!

Amanda Alexander is the Director of Coaching Mums and a widely renowned ICF-accredited coach who delivers professional coaching programmes to working mums across the globe who long for more time, balance and fulfilment in their busy lives. Download our free eBook especially for working mums with 5 easy ways to achieve balance.