After a divorce, it can often feel impossible to make time for everything.
Perhaps you now have to work full time, taking up 40 hours every week. Maybe you also have custody of your kids every other week, so you take on all sorts of obligations: Cooking, cleaning, picking them up from school, driving them to social activities and the like. At the same time, you need time for yourself, for your own hobbies and your social life.
It may be hard to do it all, but these tips can help:
- Talk to your boss at work and see if there’s any flexibility in your schedule. For instance, could you leave at 3:00 to pick up the kids and then do the last two hours of work from home?
- Be honest about how much you can do. Trying to take on too much is overwhelming. There’s no shame in hiring a babysitter so that you can keep your job and put food on the table for your kids.
- Look into all options to help ease the stress on your time. For instance, perhaps your children do not want to take the bus to and from school, but is that really the best move for your family? Alternatively, is it time to ask friends and neighbors about a carpool?
- Make the time you have count. Become an engaged parent. Do fun activities with the kids. Make memories that they’ll keep for life. If you feel down about not having more time with them, at least make sure the time you have is spent as well as possible.
It’s important to consider all of these issues as the divorce plays out, allowing you to craft the ideal parenting plan and custody schedule for your busy life.
Source: Huffington Post, “Achieving Work-Life Balance After Divorce,” Nicole H. Sodoma, accessed March 02, 2018