Every Good Husband wants his marriage to last and to be strong. Wendy Piersall’s latest call to action for CrowdSourcing inspired this post.
While I currently work as a sales manager for an internet marketing company, when I was in college I had just married my wife and I worked out of my home as a sales rep for a telecommunications company. The following is what I learned from my own experience and the stories of colleagues.
Focus on your family first. The reason most of us work is so that we can support our families. While our jobs hopefully bring us a great deal of satisfaction, we need to remember that when we’re old and feeble we want our spouse and kids to know us well enough that they want to take care of us. A good way to do this is to have a weekly family council.
Have defined roles for family members and for employees/coworkers. If your family members are involved in the family business, give them a defined set of tasks so that they don’t feel like the business consumes all life within its vicinity. Employees and coworkers should have defined roles as well so that there is not friction between them and family members. Set goals and have celebrations when you hit those goals!
Make sure you have a work area. It’s tempting to sit in front of the TV when working at home and just work while you watch. The problem with this is that it doesn’t put you in the proper frame of mind to be productive. You may get your work done, but you won’t be focused, you may make mistakes, and it’ll get done faster if you buckle down without distractions. Plus, when you have kids, a set work area that they can’t enter will allow you to work unbothered.
Make sure you have work hours. While one of the benefits of working at home is that you can set your own hours, having set office hours is a real blessing. One of my friends, we’ll call her Betty, works from home as a programmer, but she often works late hours simply because she gets up late or takes a long break in the middle of the day. Now, there’s nothing wrong with changing things up every once in a while simply because you can, but setting a regular schedule for yourself will let your spouse and kids know when you are available to play.
Leave work at work. Easier to do for 9 – 5 employees, but important for you too. For at least a few hours each day (and I don’t mean at bedtime), turn off the Blackberry, mentally put away your to do list, and focus on your family. Make sure your kids know you love them. Make sure your wife knows you have your priorities in order.
