According to the survey results How much time do you have for your children? , carried out by ARHOE–National Commission for the Rationalization of Spanish Schedules, parents in Spain “are very dissatisfied with the time they dedicate to their children.” Specifically, 60.13% say they spend less time than they consider necessary. The survey does not address the time parents dedicate to themselves. There are no data on this, but you don’t need to be a great fortune-teller to guess that they are probably not very satisfied with that reality either. Between work, home, and caring for children, the general feeling is that there are not enough hours in the day. At LILLYDOO, unfortunately, we cannot extend the days (we wish we could!), but we hope these eight tips we share with you for better work-life balance will help you find harmony and serenity in your daily life.

1. Say goodbye to time wasters

In the aforementioned survey, 98% of parents said they knew what to do to gain more time to dedicate to their children. Interestingly, nearly 4 out of 10 respondents indicated that they could find that time for better work-life balance by “disconnecting from some «screen» device.” We may not always realize it, but every day we lose a valuable amount of time scrolling through the screens of our smartphones and tablets, most of the time without a specific purpose. So the first piece of advice is the easiest of all: whenever it is not essential, disconnect from screens and enjoy your time in real life.

2. The multiple benefits of telecommuting

The pandemic and the mobility restrictions it prompted have brought to the forefront a measure that many parents have been advocating for for some time: remote work. Today, if your job allows it, you may find employers more open to considering the request. These months of the pandemic have shown that working from home can increase workers' efficiency. Furthermore, remote work has another great benefit: it allows you to save commuting time. Without that commute, you gain more time in your day.

3. Set boundaries on work

Remote work has a drawback: if you don't set clear boundaries, what initially feels like a measure for work-life balance can end up becoming a punishment. Set clear schedules and try to agree with colleagues and supervisors that team meetings or phone calls do not take place later than a certain hour. In this way, you'll ensure that work doesn't take over your entire life.

4. Goodbye, guilt

If one day, for whatever reason, you have a meeting in the afternoon when you were supposed to be with your children, don't beat yourself up. The same goes for days when you prioritize going for a run in the park, having a coffee with a friend, or attending a spinning class and don’t get to everything else. Guilt is a common companion in the lives of many parents and, especially, many mothers. In the end, you can easily feel like you could always do more. Our recommendation is to say goodbye to guilt, and for that, nothing is better than doing what you do and making the decisions you make with complete confidence. Being clear about your choices helps you accept them more easily and erase any trace of guilt.

5. Think about yourself

This advice is closely related to the previous one. Because, in the end, before being mothers or fathers, you are people who need space and time to breathe, release stress, and recharge. Whether it's taking a nap to make up for lost sleep, reading, exercising, going to a concert, or relaxing with a hot bath, make time for yourself and think about your own needs, too. Those moments of disconnection will help you show up better afterward, both for your children and at your job.

6. A better division of tasks

In the survey How much time do you have for your children? there is another striking figure. 26.80% of the parents surveyed state that «sharing household chores more equally with my partner» is a measure that would allow them to spend more time with their children—and, obviously, have more time for themselves, too. In a society like ours, where in most cases both members of a couple work, dividing household chores 50/50—and also the mental load—and involving the little adventurers in them can help both parents have more time to dedicate to their children and more time to focus on themselves.

7. Save time whenever you can

There are multiple decisions you can make in your daily life to save time, which you can then use for other things that bring you greater satisfaction. Doing the shopping online (including for diapers with the LILLYDOO monthly box , of course!), choosing a school and extracurricular activities for your children near home to avoid commuting by car or public transport, dedicating Sundays to BatchCooking for the entire week, or organizing with other parents from your children's class to take them to extracurricular activities or pick them up at the end of the day—these are all great alternatives for saving time and supporting a better work-life balance.

8. Plan to be more efficient

It may seem silly, but planning your day can be very helpful for being more efficient and making better use of your time. In the end, writing down your pending tasks helps lighten the mental load. That said, avoid making endless to-do lists every day, because you might end up with the opposite effect. The best approach is to set 2–4 priorities for the day—so you start the day knowing exactly what you need to do—and leave room for the inevitable unexpected events that always pop up, especially when you're a parent. I'm sure you know what we're talking about… 😉

We hope these eight tips help you improve the balance between family and work life. In the end, it’s a recipe that combines a pinch of common sense with another pinch of finding the -personal- rhythms that help each of us feel good in every facet of life.