Amazing Considerations On Juggling Work And Family Over School Holidays No comments yet
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. On your agenda will be six weeks of available time, during which you have to focus on the irreplaceable value represented by this quality family time together, full of bonding opportunities. 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. In an ideal world, you would want to spend the entire summer holiday with the children as well, taking time to soak in the summer. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could take a six-week holiday as well?!
Then reality strikes home. 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.
You may need to juggle your parenting time between mum and dad and this is the time to see just how flexible your respective employers are. In certain circumstances, dad will take his two week holiday first and then when he gets back, mum will take her two week period. 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.
Telecommuting is really taking hold and this might be the time to schedule a test run. 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.