1. Know What You Want
The first step towards getting what you want is knowing what you want. I decided very early on that my business was going to support my time with my daughter and not suck away these valuable years with me at work while she was with caregivers.
Even in my salaried job (when my daughter was tiny), I was very strict about working 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and not a minute later. It took a bit of time to un-learn my old work-late habits and for my boss and colleagues to adjust their expectations about what and when I was able to deliver as part of my remit.
When you can get clear in your head about what’s going to work for you and believe it genuinely, then that sincerity will come across in your negotiations and you’re going to get the best results. Get clear about the benefits of why you want something and get clear of the benefits for the other people who will influence the outcome.
2. Prioritize Family Time
It’s easy to let minutes turn into hours and hours turn into chunks of time that keep you away from home until way past the children’s bed times. It’s a slippery slope. Practice raising your productivity during the day—don’t stop to chat, don’t Facebook or Youtube, don’t mess around with your personal emails. Work at work. Leave on time. Get home promptly. Children thrive on routine and will thank you (when they’re fifty!) for being there for them on a regular basis.
3. Allow an Hour for Home Management Each Evening
When my daughter’s gone to bed, it’s my time to check that the laundry’s up-to-date, there’s food prepared for the next day, the kitchen’s cleaned up, the bathroom’s tidy, and any school correspondence, play dates, or diary-planning is done.
Now this doesn’t take an hour every day, but I allow that time to make sure that I’m on top of my home life. If I can allocate specific time like this, it means that my personal life can be kept separate to my work life, which means I can get home on time and be totally focused on my daughter from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. every day.
