Sometimes working at home can make my house feel more like a business than a home.  I constantly remind myself that even though my business is run out of my house, it still needs to be home to my family.  One of the ways I try to accomplish this is by having a family night once a week.

One of my children’s favorite themes for family night is camping.  We pitch a child’s size tent in our (empty) dining room.  I let them pick out a few of their favorite games; we roast hot dogs over the stove and fill our bellies with s’mores.  When we’ve had our fill of goodies and games we shut off all the lights, grab some flashlights and read stories in the tent until the little ones nod off. 

It’s so simple but the children look forward to it and so do we.  It gives us a chance to relax and have fun (without spending any money) and serves as a good reminder to us that building our home should come before building our business. 

Another thing to do is plan a date night.  My husband and I realized the other night that we haven’t been out by ourselves since our first son was born.  Five years ago.  Enough said?  Make a date!!  Don’t just say you’ll go to dinner and a movie one night, set a definite date or else it will never happen. 

Sometimes I think people who work outside of the home have an advantage over us in this area because the majority (though by no means all) of them get to leave their work at work.  When they clock out at the end of the day they’re done.  When your work is home it’s much easier to work around the clock and sacrifice precious family time without even realizing it.  This is another reason why I am such a firm believer in a schedule.  Even if you can’t set aside certain hours every day, you can set aside a certain amount of time.  Whether it’s three or eight hours a day, set your goal and achieve it.  Don’t work an hour under but don’t work an hour over either. 

My bulletin board often serves as a reminder to me of what’s really important in my life.  I have photos of my family and little drawings that my boys make posted right above my desk.   Whenever I look up and see their precious faces or the happy little family of stick figures holding hands it reminds me of my priorities; God first, Family second and Career third.   With an equation like this you can’t lose.

 

 

Tags: business, family, home

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