Five Crucial Suggestions For Managing Work And Family Simultaneously

The old saying tells us that the best laid plans of mice and men will fail. While a mouse might not really lead a complicated life, it nevertheless seems impossible for us to plan our busy lives around our family and work without some of those unexpected “days off” attributable to illness, weather or teacher training!

Wouldn't it be nice if everyone and everything were flexible, schedules included and you could simply drop your work commitments at a moment's notice to substitute care for a sickening child?!

1. If you can – plan. It's true that some of these days are unpredictable, but others may be scheduled ahead of time. Of course nobody knows what the weather is going to do, but snow days only arrive during certain months of the year, whilst inset days are generally planned in advance and with a little bit of work can be sewn into the schedule.

Sick days present the biggest problem of all, of course. You should do a little bit of planning and preparation work in full anticipation that this day will surely come! If you are struggling with your planning, consider some professional coaching to help you get back on track.

2. Save up your personal days. If both parents or adults in the household have regular work commitments, it's important to try and reserve some personal days for the inevitable sick calling. Many employers these days grant a certain amount of personal days and you should talk to your Human Resources department and your line manager as you try to anticipate these scenarios.

You may well not have any advance notice, so you will need to look at this from every angle to make sure that you are being fair to all concerned.

It would definitely be an advantage if you and your partner have a sympathetic employer who could understand your position. Never use these personal/sick standby days for anything other than the reason they were intended.

3. Set up some favours. If you have several children to take care of, you should come up with a backup plan as well. See if you can get some additional emergency care-giving help lined up among good neighbours or friends. Always repay these favours in any way you can. The more emergency backup plans you have the more you are going to be able to cope with the issue of a sick child or three.

4. Roll out the vitamins. When you are coping with sick children, remember that you should pay attention to prevention as it is a lot easier than the cure. Teach your children good personal hygiene, that they should eat well, should rest well and be in good health at all times, as they will be less likely to fall victim to those annoying, smaller viruses.

5. Be a good forecaster. Always keep a watchful eye on the forecasts during the winter months. Weather forecasting has improved much over the years and if they say there is a threat of a blizzard a couple of days ahead, you can be pretty sure and start making contingency plans now. If a school district is closed, it might be very difficult for you to get to your work location as well, but if the office is open, see if you can count on one of those personal days or plan to work from home.

You might think you have to wear so many different hats, that you never know which one to put on.

These days, online life coaching is available to really help you understand this part of your "wardrobe selection!" And thankfully, coaching for women can make all the difference between managing and panicking!

Amanda Alexander, Director of Coaching Mums, helps pressure-cooked, stressed working mums who long for more hours in the day. Through her coaching programmes and online life coaching courses, Amanda shows mums how to create fulfilling and successful lives. For your simple 5 step guide to balance as a working mum, download our free eBook today!