Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Using Goal Setting To Spend More Time With Your Family

By Dick Ingersoll

We live in a very busy world. The technology that was supposed to give us more leisure time has, in fact, increased our workloads. Regrettably, our families are frequently the ones to suffer. Goal setting can help us can help us fit every important part of our lives, especially our families, in our busy schedules.

There are probably several reasons why you can't spend the time you want with your family. None-the-less, the number one reason that pulls us away from families is work responsibilities. Many jobs call for long hours and some also require travel. Some people work in cities other than the one in which they live. This creates additional problems.

Goal setting that involves plenty of time with your family must be planned out with a conscious effort toward that outcome. If you make the exertion, you can overcome most obstacles. Let's look over a few options available to you when planning for optimum use of your time.

Most jobs are very demanding. Setting goals can help you reduce this problem. The first thing you can do is schedule specific times that are solely for your family and stick to that schedule. There are techniques that you can employ to reduce the stress of your job. One of the methods is to make a clear transition between work and home. Make every attempt to not bring your work home with you on certain days that belong to your family.

In your goal setting consider that community adult schools and other educational institutions often make available work related stress reduction classes. Check them out. It may be worth your while to devote the time in one of these classes if the end result is more quality time with your family.

If your job requires that you travel on a frequent basis, check for options with your employer. Many employers are now offering flextime for their workers. This may include compensated time off for time spent on the road. Another option to think about in your goal setting is the possibility of occasionally taking your family with you on trips.

An obstacle to your goal setting may include the fact that you work away from the area in which your family resides. This may also mean that you work in a different state. Electronic mail and digital cameras aid in bridging the gap for the person who only sees their families on weekends. Also think about rotating holidays and special family events so that you are home.

When goal setting for quality family time, you may need ideas. There are a number of family help guides online that will help guide assist in guiding you. Your local library is also a resource. A number of good books have been published in the last few years that address the challenges to quality family time. There are also online family newsletters that are an additional resource. Goal setting can help you get more out of the time you have with your family.

About the Author:

No comments: