How to Maximize Family Time!

This is a guest post by Kiley Morrow. I only share information that I find fun, informative, or important. Enjoy!

Family time can take a serious hit if stress begins to creep in. Busy schedules, working, and traveling can leave family members worse for wear by the time they return home. You want to pay close attention to the status of your family time, because without proper maintenance it can wither away. From creating stronger emotional bonds to improving grades, family time has a number of positive effects on your life.

In this article we will go over ways you can help to increase the amount of time you spend with the people you love most.

Make A Family To Do List

Making a list of the things that need to be done will help to parse out the important from the unimportant, and also make sure everyone is pulling their weight. Ensuring that everyone is doing family duties like taking out the dog or buying groceries will safeguard against all of those responsibilities falling on one person’s shoulders. Also, sometimes having children perform duties that are typically relegated to parents helps them to mature and widen their skill set, which has undeniable long term benefit.

Take Advantage Of Resources

Don’t feel like you need to do everything yourself. Sure, you don’t want to become a burden on other people by always asking them to do things, but in moderation it just makes sense. This may mean asking a babysitter to prep dinner, or do other duties that are jamming up your schedule. The good thing about the ubiquity of phones is that you can coordinate these duties with nearly anyone at pretty much any time.

If friends or family have free time and access to a car don’t feel like you have to be the one driving around town because you’re afraid to ask for help. Availability is a big factor and what goes around comes around; if you have free time one day and they ask you to do something then you can return the favor. This also helps everyone in your family’s social circle work as a cohesive unit.

Begin New Traditions

Every now and then, families just need a little bit of time to drop their responsibilities and enjoy each other. Consider looking into a family-friendly resort, which offers peaceful respite from your job and other stressors. There are plenty of things to do and can become a regular addition that everyone looks forward to. If kids are not part of the picture, an adults-only resort is a great alternative as well.

Reduce Wasted Time

Just about anyone can afford to trim away a few time-wasting habits. If you have a habit of losing important items in your everyday life, create a more rigid system that reduces the odds of that happening, like placing your wallet and car keys in the same place every time you come in the front door. If you are compulsively checking emails every few minutes, instead delegate a time in the morning and afternoon when you allow yourself to check emails and fight the compulsion to do so throughout the day.

Social media is another perpetrator of time wasting, especially among younger generations. While like email it can serve a useful purpose, it benefits you to understand that much of its use is wasteful utilization of your time. In fact, excessive use of social media has physiological consequences to your brain.

To help counteract the muddiness of thought and organization that accompanies incessant use of things like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, consider implementing meditation. Doing so may help to remedy pathological inattention in your daily life.

Explore Alternative Job Options

This does not necessarily mean you should find a new job, but see what type of work you can do in the comfort of your own home. Many employers and employees alike utilize working from home to great effect. It can substantiate the amount of time you can spend with your kids and save time and money, all while still being productive.

You can also see if you can negotiate different work hours to help cut down on time needlessly stuck in rush hour traffic. If you can be in and out an hour or two earlier, that’s a big win for the time you can spend with your family.

Let Technology Help You

While we briefly covered the downsides to mindless use of technology, there are also certain benefits to be had from proper utilization. Smartphones can be the source of great distraction, but they can also help you. Apps like Waze can help expedite your daily travels so you don’t get stuck in traffic.

Making Meals At Home

Making dinner doesn’t need to be a hassle; in fact the act itself can help bring families closer together. You can also make meals in advance at home and bring them to work to save money. As an added bonus, you can more closely monitor exactly what you’re eating, which your body will thank you for.

Be There for One Another

The last thing you want is to waste so much time at work that you miss out on important moments within your family. You want to spend as much time as possible with your children before they move out and have families of their own. Take these tips into consideration if you want to spend more time with your family. It may take some time to get used to, but the adjustments will be worth it in the long run.