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by Dina Mishev
ou've
got hours of homework to do, work is a disaster
and the kids are complaining they haven't seen you
in days. Managing work and family is hard enough-88
percent of respondents in a survey conducted by
Fast Company magazine said they find juggling
their work and personal lives difficult-but an ever-increasing
percentage of adults are adding school into the
mix as well. Thankfully, unlike work and your home
life, school lasts for a designated amount of time:
10 months, two years-whatever it is, at least you
can see the light at the end of the tunnel.
While this light at the end of the tunnel is reassuring
in the long run, you still have to learn how to
balance everything in the short term. We're not
going to pretend it won't be difficult-after all,
just because you're in school doesn't mean the number
of hours in a day will double-but it is do-able.
The same Fast Company survey found that
87 percent of respondents believed it was possible
to achieve balance in life if you made it a priority.
Everyone's circumstances are different, but here are some wide-ranging hints that should help across the board.
Most people don't take this advice, but that's good
news for you. Take advantage of the relative quiet
of the office-no co-workers coming to you with problems,
not too many email or phone messages to respond
to yet-and get a head start on (or even start and
finish) some of the day's most pressing tasks. You'd
be surprised at how much work you can get done when
you don't face any disruptions.
Working late can't always be helped, but try for
an on-time departure at least three times a week.
Sometimes "homework" is unavoidable, but make it
a last resort. Not only does it signal to your family
that work is more important to them (even if that
isn't the case), but also it is not productive.
Imagine trying to concentrate on sales figures or
writing a memo with a spouse and kids milling about
and craving attention. If you have something that
just has to get done, better to stay at work and
finish it up. It will end up taking less time and
will be a better product. And your family won't
feel like they're playing second-fiddle.
Whether your weekend is the traditional Saturday-Sunday
or a Wednesday-Thursday, try to keep it free from
work. We know, it is easier to say than do, but
if you make a work-free weekend a priority, it can
be done. Use prioritized task lists to determine
what really needs to be done when. Most things can
wait until Monday, if not Tuesday or Wednesday.
If Gen. Colin Powell-an overachieving, overcommitted
professional if ever there was one-can do it, you
can, too. In his autobiography, My American Journey,
Powell writes about a speech he gave his soldiers
in Germany: "The Army is to be enjoyed, not endured.
Have fun in your command. Don't always run at a
breakneck pace. Take leave when you've earned it.
Spend time with your families. I don't intend to
work on weekends unless it's absolutely necessary.
And I don't expect you to either. Anyone found logging
Saturday or Sunday hours for himself or his troops
had better have a good reason."
You schedule meetings with co-workers
and managers, right? You have a class schedule.
Why not pen in some quality time with friends and
family, too? And your new work-free weekends can
be a perfect time to do it. Research has shown people
are more likely to do things written in a calendar
or on a to-do list. It sounds silly, but go ahead
and block out 30 minutes on your calendar or to-do
list to help the kids walk the dog or to cook dinner
with your spouse.
Students at traditional brick-and-mortar universities
do it and so can online students. Study groups not
only make homework more fun-one of my college study
groups still has annual reunions even eight years
after graduation-but can also help you gain a better
grasp of material and save time. There's nothing
wrong with divvying up research tasks or problem
sets-so long as it doesn't result in mere copying
when it comes time to share the fruits of everyone's
labor. Strive for a group with all members having
a different area of expertise. That way, you don't
only have study partners but also easily accessible
tutors.
As with most things, homework is done most easily
when you can devote a significant chunk of time
to it. Sure, 10 minutes is better than no minutes,
but you're not going to be able to get through a
course on 10 minutes a day. Just as you do at work
and with your family (as recommended above), schedule
specific time to do schoolwork. If your spouse and
kids know mom's (or dad's) study time is the hour
after dinner every night, you'll have an easier
time minimizing interruptions and explaining why
you're disappearing.
If your kids are old enough-third or fourth grade
should work-you can do homework together (killing
two birds, family time and homework, with one stone).
Since kids are in school themselves and can start
to have a decent amount of homework by this age,
sharing your own school and homework experiences
with them can be a great way to bond. They'll understand
where you're coming from, and you'd be surprised
at how much of a resource they can be when you have
a difficult problem set or when it comes time for
you to cram for a test. A friend's fifth grader
once stood sentinel outside their home office door
to ensure the three younger kids wouldn't disturb
dad while he was studying for a final. The next
term, the same fifth grader made up accounting flash
cards, copied from a textbook, and used them to
quiz her dad. |
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