We’ve been feeling overwhelmed with all of the year-end chaos. So we enlisted the help of the Time Doctor, Jen Woods, to help us start the New Year in Zen mode.
This year was a busy and stressful one. What are some strategies to help us have more quality time as a family in 2009?
Having more quality time together as a family is a priority for many people. With increasingly busy lives, it isn’t always easy to make this a reality. More often than not, when we have a lot on our plate, effective prioritization suffers. The more work we have, the more time-trouble we get. The good news is that it doesn’t have to be that way.
One of the first steps to getting increased quality time together as a family is to regularly set aside specific family time. It should even be recorded in your calendar as “family time” so it becomes a habit the whole family adheres to. By dedicating the time for ourselves in writing, we are more likely to stick to it and less likely to feel as though something else more important needs to be done that day.
A good strategy is to claim one day a week (for most this will be a Saturday or Sunday) that is the family day. No matter what, this day is reserved for fun time together. Weekend chores can be done on the other weekend day or during the week, but most definitely not on family day. You can plan specific activities in advance, like a trip to the zoo in the summer or tobogganing, skating or a ski trip in the winter. The activity itself isn’t as important as ensuring that one day, each and every week, is set aside for fun and being all together as a family. Engage your children in choosing the activities. It can be fun for them to come up with ideas for outings or even activities at home on that day.
The family day will become the tradition that everyone looks forward to, each and every week. Setting aside the time in writing will effectively allow you to prioritize to ensure your time as a family is maximized.
Dr. Jen Woods knows first hand the struggles and challenges that parents can face while trying to balance the everyday chores and responsibilities of parenthood. In an effort to help other busy working parents like herself, Jen started the Time Doctor business in the spring of 2008.