Kevin’s guide to balancing work and family life

Kevin is among the 93% of working parents who would like to spend more time with their kids every day. Finding the right work/life balance is a major topic of concern for workers in France. That’s the result of the 9th OPE survey on Reconciling Professional, Personal, and Family Life, conducted from April 7-22, 2017, and based on interviews with 1002 French workers.

Not enough time in the day

Besides struggling to find the right balance between work and family, Kevin also has a growing sense that there’s simply not enough time in the day. For example, he’d love to spend more time with his friends and family and make more time for himself—in short, he’d like to be in less of a rush every day!

Kevin feels that one way to improve this situation would be for his company to give him more flexibility and autonomy. Specifically, he’d prefer to choose his own work schedule, avoid meetings early in the morning or late in the evening, and get access to a daycare center or a gym at his office. He even dreams of eventually working from home.

What’s the best way to balance work and personal life?

Set limits

To protect his free time, Kevin has recently set some clear limits on his work life. He now avoids bringing work home from the office, even for tasks he could finish in just a few minutes. He also considers his personal life sacred, allowing him to maintain a healthy distance and unwind when he’s not at work. He doesn’t check in on any calls or emails that come in—they can wait until he’s back at the office.

Set priorities and make a list of tasks

To stay on top of what needs to get done, Kevin starts each day by making a prioritized list of things he has to do. This list helps him to appreciate the true value of each task and to prioritize effectively. This more objective point of view lets him focus on what’s most important or most urgent and put less pressing tasks off for later. This organization helps him to manage his work time more effectively so that it doesn’t spill over into his personal life.

Insist on taking time for yourself

Taking good care of yourself is essential, even during work time. Kevin makes sure to take a break, get some fresh air, or just disconnect for a few minutes every day. These brief moments of time off help him to be more effective and more available throughout his work day.

Experiment with new ways of working

As technology continues to evolve and smartphones become a constant presence in our lives, Kevin is trying out new ways of working with help from Beesbusy, a task-management app for mobile devices. He hopes to improve the way he organizes his time so he can enjoy more days off of work. For Kevin, a different way of working doesn’t mean working less or not as hard—it simply means working better.

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