Want Calmer Evenings?

Want Calmer Evenings?

After spending eight or more hours in the office and x-number of minutes battling traffic, all you can probably think of is to get home to your family and rest. Unfortunately, the reality is that there are still chores to do and things to attend to before you get to the resting part. There’s dinner to be cooked, house cleaning, taking care of the kids, taking care of the kids assignment, taking out the trash, cleaning the car, etc. You’re probably getting tired just thinking about that controlled chaos. If you want calmer evenings, remember this 3 P’s:

• PLAN – Organizing your time is one of the best things you can do in any situation. Plan to leave the office on the same time every day. Then as much as you can, leave the office where it is. Don’t carry it with you; not only physically but more importantly, mentally. Leave the problems there. Don’t think about how you’re going to finish that Power point presentation or that meeting. You have to concentrate on the “you” outside of the office worker. You are now a parent and a partner. If you can, spend a few minutes to get out of your “office mode” by window shopping or buying groceries. While there, you can start planning on the things to do at home and how you’re going to section your time in accomplishing it.

• PRIORITIZE – You don’t really need to vacuum the house everyday right? What else can you put off until the weekend? Assign the not-so-urgent task – like gardening, or pressing clothes or scrubbing the bathroom – till then. Ask your kids ahead if there are assignments that they need help on like researching or cutting out pictures or bringing some things for their science experiments. You wouldn’t want to be searching for leaves or frogs or colored yarns in the middle of the night, right? Not only are you tired by then, you’ll be lucky to find what you need.

• PASS – Delegating jobs to other family members will not only get you a bit more time for other things, it also teaches responsibility. Age-appropriate task for your kids builds their character and gives them the feeling that they too are contributing an important part. Say “pass” also to phone calls during dinner time; or volunteer work after hours that you can be excused on; or some other errands that you’re asked to do. These takes up more of your precious time so do it only when its an emergency.

Calmer evenings will give you time to down wind properly and allow for better quality time with your family. At the end of the day, that’s the best reward.