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All about family and career
Balancing Act

by A. M. Bradley

How you handle the corporate and family to-do-list will dictate how it handles you - Adenia M. Bradley

As a working parent of two children, I employ two significant principles in achieving successful balance. Those principles: planning and prioritizing. Seven specific life areas are sifted into these balance principles. Trust me, between "take me here", "can we go there" and "is that report ready"; these will help you achieve and maintain some professional and family-life sanity.

1. Let your calendar be your guide! Build a master calendar. This calendar has to include - work, your personal appointments, the kids, your husband's appointments and if you are a caretaker to a parent - do include their doctors' and

related appointments. A good starting place is your child’s school calendar released at the beginning of the school year; use it to assure every date that is important is highlighted. You also want to highlight the days you will need to make child care arrangements. Every doctor’s appointment, extra curricular activity, tutoring session, and science project due date should be on your personal calendar. Your personal calendar, hair/nail appointments, personal training sessions, etc. should always be kept with your business calendar. Your

business calendar should include conferences, networking events you might want to attend and special meetings. This should decrease the occurrence of overlapping appointments and allow for ample time to address conflicts.

2. Plan all meals once a week. Planning for the week prevents those after work grocery store runs. You can also make meal time more family oriented by having an older child pick a night to cook. Another great idea, especially for single parents is incorporating a night out. Keep your budget in mind - look for kids eat free or similar deals.

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