September 2, 2010
Incredible Pointers On Juggling Work And Family Over School Holidays
Whenever the school holidays approach, working mums and working parents in general start going through a nightmare, as they start to fulfil their organisational roles. You will have six weeks or more of time to fill for your children, well aware that this is quality family time, irreplaceable for family bonding purposes. Doesn't it seem that the months and years just fly by and you are all too aware how, before you turn around, the kids will be adults and on their way into the future. This makes you feel as if you want to spend the whole of the summer holidays with your children, as you soak in those summer rays. Wouldn't it be nice if you could take a six-week holiday as well?!
But reality bites! You could be self-employed, knowing that holidays are almost unheard of for you, as you put everything into the development of your business.
If you are within the ranks of the employed, you know only too well how your boss relies on you and cannot afford to be without you for that entire period, although you hope that he or she is flexible and at least a little accommodating, as this can make it all a lot easier.
You have important decisions ahead and professional coaching can help you to unravel the answers.
This will be the time to explore just how flexible your respective employers are, as mum and dad do their best to rearrange their time to accommodate all the demands. Some might suggest that mum takes her two weeks first and dad takes his when she gets back to work. While this might "cover" for four weeks, it is hardly an ideal situation. Younger kids will find this very confusing and, as online coaching will remind you, you really need to try and maintain that family fabric as much as possible.
Maybe this is time to investigate the concept of telecommuting, which is becoming much more popular and might be a solution for you? Talk with your supervisor and see if it might be possible for you to operate from home over the summer holidays, or at least during part of this vacation, so that you can be much more flexible and allocate some of those precious hours to the children. Plan in advance to show your supervisor how effective and efficient you can be, by trying this concept before the summer holidays come along.
If your children are a little older, why not consider enrolling them in holiday clubs, maybe a dance club, drama club or to play football? Plan as far in advance as you can as the best holiday clubs get snapped up relatively early.
Summer holidays might mean that you have to get really creative about how you fit in your work responsibilities, so you will have to plan carefully if you are going to make them as easy as possible. Now, more than ever, you need to look for professional coaching help to ensure that you are not out of your depth and remember that there are many online coaching resources available these days.
Amanda Alexander is the Director of Coaching Mums and a widely renowned ICF-accredited coach who delivers professional coaching programmes to working mums across the globe who long for more time, balance and fulfilment in their busy lives. Download our free eBook especially for working mums with 5 easy ways to achieve balance.
Filed under Self Help and Motivational by admin
