Integrating Work with Life

Integrating Work with Life

Gone are the days when we go to office at 8am and leave office by 5PM do our own personal stuff, sleep and go to work again the following day. Most often, we have arrangements for doing remote work; we take calls even when we are no longer in the office; and we try to catch colleagues in different time zones. How do we now spend time with the family?

The key to being in this situation is to find alternative ways of spending time with family, enjoying our me time and bonding  with friends. As they always say, different strokes for different folks, I just hope that by sharing mine, you will be inspired to work on yours.

Never compromise the non-negotiables.

Healthy relationships have a lot to do with compromise but that does not mean we should compromise everything. There are things that our loved ones are very passionate about and breaking them may leave a scar in their hearts that would be hard to mend especially if time is not on your side. I call these non-negotiables. Make sure to know these non-negotiables of your loved ones and never budge on them. My daughter's non- negotiable is going to mass on Sundays. So we make sure to be with her during Sunday mass.

Grab every opportunity to spend quality time.

The key to quality time is not the length but the undivided attention. Make the most of every moment we have with our loved ones. It could be as simple as singing nursery rhymes and action songs with my son while goofing around the house or as creative as making bead bracelets with my daughter or as crazy as singing along with the radio while carpooling with family. We can leverage on technology to always be connected like a quick call to my Mom while waiting for the bus going to the office.

Build great memories by keeping traditions.

I am lucky to have aunts who value family. When we were kids, they introduced us to the tradition of themed parties, exchange gifts, fun games and talent shows during Christmas with our grandparents and the entire clan. We continued this with our kids and hope that our kids continue them as well with their own kids.

Finding time may not be easy but making good use of the littlest time we have with our loved ones is what really counts.