Juggling Work and Family: Keeping the Schedule Together
Today, I want to dive into a topic that’s often overlooked but is incredibly important—coordinating appointments, meetings, and those big events like conferences with your family. All with the added complication of the hybrid world, where you’re home some days and in the office on others. If you’re living with a partner, they may have their own schedules, whether professional or personal. Then throw childcare into the mix!
The Problem
We’ve all been there, done that—missed family events due to important work commitments that we forgot about, forgotten to book leave until the eleventh hour, and assumed way too much about our partner’s or other family members’ schedules. The key to handling this lies in mastering the good old art of communication and planning.
Calendar Collaboration
In this digital age, a shared calendar is your best friend. Whether you use Outlook, Google Calendar, or any other tool, make sure both you and your partner (and other relevant family members) have access. Create a shared family calendar and put in all family events or any personal events other family members need to be aware of. Sync this calendar to your phones—this way, you can instantly see each other's schedules and avoid those accidental overlaps.
Home/Office Schedule
Something else you might want to stick in to your family calendar is your (and your partners’, if applicable) schedules of when you are working from home and when you are in the office. This will allow them to plan accordingly, for example if they are relying on you being at home for whatever reason, e.g. to collect a delivery, look after the dog, etc. If you’re typically at the office on the same days each week, all you need to do is add in a recurring full day appointment, e.g. “Will at the office” for those days.
Evening Work Events
If you’ve got a work event on a weekday evening, then while it might be in your work calendar, you’ll need to make sure it’s in your family one as well. The last thing you want is, for example, your partner assuming you’ll be home as usual at 6pm on the day they are heading for a dinner with friends when actually you’re back at 8pm and no last-minute childcare is available.
School Run and Childcare
If you take turns to do the school run or other childcare responsibilities, then you definitely don’t want to inadvertently schedule some work appointment during those periods. Make sure they are marked clearly on your family calendar. You might also need to block off the time on your work calendar as well, e.g. so your colleagues don’t schedule you in to calls on the morning that you’re dropping off the kids to school!
Regular Check-Ins
It’s easy to get lost in the hustle and bustle of life. Even if you’re putting every event into the family calendar (let’s face it, it isn’t always going to happen…), it’s important to have a daily or weekly chat with your family to discuss your daily/weekly plans, any upcoming events, and if there's a need for somebody to take some time off. This practice makes sure that everybody is on the same page.
Planning Big Events
Conferences, seminars, and other major commitments on your part might require your partner to take time off for childcare, and vice versa. To avoid last-minute panic, mark these events on your family calendar as soon as you know about them, even if they are months away. Discuss them with your family and plan your (and your partner’s) leave accordingly. Trust me, you'll appreciate the peace of mind that comes with having it all sorted out in advance.
Booking Leave
Try and sort out leave requests with your company as soon as possible. I’ve had a bad habit of leaving it for ages and then suddenly realising I haven’t actually booked the day off for that family event. I’ve always been lucky, but you don’t want to be in the awkward situation of needing to take last minute time off, or worse, having to skip the family event. Needless to say, when you book the leave, make sure it’s blocked off on your work calendar as well.