Balancing Time Between Work and Home Life

Problem

"I started my career at a time when I had also chosen to start a family. I was in the enthrals of some major software releases and projects while bringing up two young boys."

Actions taken

• "There were days that I was working longer hours in the office than I would like, but there were also the days when I had to remind myself to take time for the family. I had to balance that based on what was going on at home and work."
• "Always try to build a good support system around you. Although, I did have help from my family in my children's initial years, I tried to build a support system after that. I was lucky to have some really good care givers that were willing to provide me flexibility."
• "I set strict boundaries between work and personal life. This means that I never bring work home, even if it meant staying another hour or two at work. I prefer to complete work at work so I could fully focus on my family when I am home without any mental distractions. My company understood this and if they needed something, they knew they had the flexibility to ask for something until 7pm, but after that, they also knew that I would be gone for the day."

Lessons learned

• "As challenging as it was, I found that there are ways to balance your work to home life ratio. There is never going to be a good work life balance, but it is about finding the 'what is right for you' balance."
• "It comes with building trust within the company. If they trust that you are going to get your work done, they are more willing to give you that leverage. Thankfully for me, it came intrinsically."
• "When working with caregivers, it is not just about the money. You are asking them for their valuable time. Understanding the importance of their family time and providing them the flexibility when they needed it was important. This built a healthy respect for each other which can go a long way."
• "By setting boundaries, I was really able to focus on my kids when I was at home and work when I was at the office, instead of trying to balance both and not being happy with either. I was able to come home feeling satisfied with what I was doing and really enjoy the time with my family."