by Here is a question from Jarred. He asks, “I’m struggling with balancing being there for my kids, but also working enough to provide for them. Do you have any insight on how we can successfully balance these needs?”
Well, balancing work and family life is not easy. Make sure you set boundaries so that you are able to set time aside for both work and for your children. In the beginning, your responsibilities for your newborn twins will greatly tax your mind and your body, often to the point of overwhelming you physically, mentally, and spiritually. This will impact work, so set expectations with your boss and with your co-workers of how your performance may not be up to what it was before the twins arrived. So this is how you can balance things on the work front.
There are other ways that you can manage working and spending time with your children. You may want to consider how your work schedule is structured. Are you able to go to work earlier in the day so that you can get home earlier to spend time with your family? If it’s possible, definitely reserve the weekends for dedicated family time. Try to get the work done that you have during the week so you don’t have to bring it home with you or work on the weekends.
This also requires that you be all in. When you are home, you’re home. When you’re at work, you’re at work. So when you get home from work in the evening, you set aside your work concerns or your work tasks and you focus on your family in the moment. Spending time with them individually and as a family is your priority when you get home from work. Same thing on the weekend. Try to engage mentally and don’t just be there physically, but thinking about work that you still have to do come Monday morning.
This topic was originally addressed on the Dad’s Guide to Twins Podcast Episode 65: One-on-One Time, Family vs. Work, Renting Gear.
