Catherine Sergautis’s Tips for Balancing Work and Family

Catherine Sergautis is a busy woman, balancing her job as a registered practical nurse with raising her young daughter.  Here she offers up some of her best tips for managing work and family life.

ª Stay organized. Buy a large desk calendar, suggests Catherine Sergautis, where everyone’s activities and appointments can be listed. Review it nightly in preparation for the next day.

ª Sometimes bringing work home is inevitable. Set up boundaries of where work can be discussed and how late you are willing to work on it. Catherine Sergautis recommends that the dinner table be a work free zone where children can have their parents’ full attention. This means no checking email or answering your phone. The time shortly before bedtime should also be a work free zone.

ª Accept help. Find childcare that you can depend on. That may mean having a family member or neighbor watch the kids while you’re working or finding a trustworthy daycare or afterschool program. Having childcare you can trust makes it easier for you to focus during the workday, says Catherine Sergautis, and lets you be more productive.

ª Make sure chores are equally divided. If one spouse is doing all or most of the housework, resentment builds. If chores are divided up evenly, they get done faster, leaving more time for family.

ª Determine what quality time means to you and your family, suggests Catherine Sergautis. For some this means talking over a family dinner at night, while for others this may mean devoting an entire day to a family activity, like a trip to a museum or a park. You need to know what you mean by quality time in order to achieve it.

ª Take time for yourself. You can’t give you family or work the attention they need if you are overtaxed, says Catherine Sergautis. Find some time in your week that you can set aside just for you to relax and do something nice for yourself.