Since the arrival of your little adventurer, your daily life as young parents probably feels like a real tightrope walk! Between the desire to be perfect for your child, to stay efficient at work, and to nurture your relationship, it can sometimes be difficult to juggle everything. If you feel like you’re struggling to find balance between your professional and personal life, rest assured: you’re not alone. 83% of parents with children under 3 years old say they lack time daily. *. So, how can you achieve a better balance and more serenity in these busy days? In this article, we’ve gathered several tips to help you balance work and family life more easily.

1. Set your boundaries

Meetings after 6 p.m., extended hours, the colleague who interrupts you every ten minutes to ask a question: to avoid burning out, set your boundaries. Then discuss them with the people concerned, while proposing alternatives so your request is better received. Ask your manager whether it’s possible to reschedule the meeting to the morning, because that would allow you to be as efficient and involved as you’d like. As for your colleague, suggest that they note all their questions and go over them with you during a dedicated time slot. By asserting your needs while respecting those of others, you can find a better balance between your private and professional life—without conflict.

2. Chase away guilt

Guilt is part of daily life for many parents, especially many moms. There’s often a feeling that you could do more, whether at work or at home. To put a stop to guilt, the first step is to give up the idea of perfection . Work-life balance can only exist if you let go on certain points. Even Wonder Woman wouldn’t be able to handle everything! ;)

Take the time to define what your current priorities are . There are times when you’ll want to be more involved in your family life and others when you’ll want to focus more on your career. The important thing is to find your own balance; every parent has their own definition. By making clear choices, you’ll be better able to accept them and free yourself from guilt. If you love your work, don’t hesitate to tell your children, even if they’re very young. Not only will they understand the situation better, but it will also help them develop a positive view of work.

3. Segment

It’s not uncommon to think during a meeting about the appointment you need to make for the youngest—or, conversely, to think about the file you need to submit while you’re with your children. To find balance between professional and personal life, it’s important to establish a clear boundary . Avoid bringing work home in the evening as much as possible. If that’s not possible, schedule a few work sessions on the weekend, while making sure it remains the exception. The other major enemy? The smartphone, which blurs the boundaries between work and private life. Consider disabling notifications when you get home so you don’t see emails while you’re with your family. If it’s too difficult to disconnect completely, set a limited time to check them—thirty minutes once the children are in bed, for example, with a timer.

4. Save your time

Any way you can free up time is worth considering. Here are a few ideas to balance private and professional life without constantly rushing:

• Choose extracurricular activities for your children close to home

• Shop during your lunch break or online. With the LILLYDOO subscription , you receive your products directly at home, wherever you are and whenever you want. No more hassle of buying diapers at the supermarket! ;)

• Suggest sharing rides with other parents

• Freeze meals in advance for the entire week

5. Think about yourself

By constantly juggling between work and home, you can forget the foundation of this fragile balance: yourself! Allowing yourself moments just for you is essential to recharge and release stress. . Take the opportunity to do something that feels good: relax, have a coffee with a friend on the terrace, read, play sports, etc. If you’re lacking sleep, treat yourself to a short nap, and don’t hesitate to read our article specially dedicated to parents lacking sleep . Don’t feel guilty—you are not a full-time parent. You have the right to exist and to have leisure activities outside the family or professional sphere. By taking care of yourself, you’ll also be more available for your children and more effective at work.

Only advantages!

6. Avoid multitasking at work

With your busy life as young parents, you need to be efficient at work. However, trying to do everything at once leads to spreading yourself too thin and to exhaustion, because the brain isn’t designed to handle multiple activities simultaneously. There are very useful methods to help you focus on a single task at a time. One of them involves working for twenty-five minutes, taking a five-minute break, then resuming twenty-five-minute sessions until the task is completed. If you have an important assignment to submit, break it into small tasks to make it easier to tackle. Be careful: no checking your phone or emails during the twenty-five-minute intervals. ;) This way, you’ll move faster on your projects without encroaching on your second shift at home.

7. Distribute the tasks within the family

Having to manage everything—and think about everything—all the time can quickly lead to burnout. This is the famous mental load, which still mainly falls on women. To share it more fairly, create a task distribution chart with your partner based on each person’s preferences and schedule. Don’t hesitate to involve the whole family; from the age of three, your little adventurer can already do simple things like tidying up their toys. This way, they’ll understand that everyone contributes to household chores, not just parents or mom. They may even feel valued and happy to be considered grown-up!

8. Plan your day in advance

A good organization is the key to achieving a better balance between work and personal life . Without needing a perfectly scheduled life, try to structure your upcoming day or week as much as possible. The more you plan, the more efficient you’ll be—without spreading yourself too thin . Feel free to write down everything weighing on your mind as a list. Writing it all down helps lighten your mental load and prevents overwhelm. To avoid endless to-do lists that can be anxiety-inducing, set three to five priorities per day—no more. Don’t fill your schedule to 100% so you leave room for inevitable unexpected events. This way, you can start the day with clear priorities and a less cluttered mind. Above all, block out a time slot in your schedule just for yourself. ;)

9. Request to work remotely

If your company allows it, request one or more days of remote work per week. You can save time by avoiding transportation and make faster progress on certain files if you have difficulty concentrating—especially if you work in an open-plan office. Use this efficiency argument to convince your employer. To be truly at peace, leave your little adventurer with their grandparents, at daycare, or with their nanny. If this option isn’t feasible, you can explore other solutions: leave earlier on some evenings, or adjust your schedule to have more days off.

10. Rethink family time

As parents, you can quickly feel guilty, thinking you never spend enough time with your children. However, it’s not so much the number of hours that matters, but the quality of the time you share as a family. The important thing is to spend a moment when you’re fully available for your little adventurer, even if it’s just a few minutes. It can be story time, a hug, a quick game, or even the commute to daycare or school. If you’re running around all week, use the weekend to catch up. And don’t forget to put your phone aside during these moments of connection! :)

11. Learn to delegate

Are you still always chasing time like the White Rabbit in Alice in Wonderland? Delegate! :) Beyond daycare, leisure centers, housekeeping help, and babysitters (some of which are tax-deductible), think of your loved ones. Some will surely be happy to lend you a hand if you ask: grandparents, friends, aunts, and uncles. At work, trust your colleagues and resist the urge to redo their work. Asking for help will lighten your daily life!

We hope these tips help you find a better balance between work and personal life. Remember: the most important thing is to find what suits you best, even if those around you do things differently. This balance will also evolve over time and depending on your priorities, so you’ll likely need to readjust along the way to feel truly fulfilled day to day.