Time management of a working father — my 10-point cognition to manage context switching efficiently
Looking after a newborn is not just a mother’s responsibility but also a father’s. A new mother endures several hormonal imbalances during post-pregnancy. She also needs a hand wrapped around her shoulder to soothe herself too. Although a mother gets long maternity leaves to take care of the baby and herself. On the contrary, a father receives only 1–4 weeks of paternity leaves to support his family. After that, it is reasonably expected to return to the workplace and be productive as earlier. Considering the dual responsibility at home and the workplace makes it immensely demanding for any working father to operate competently.
I love my job where I own multiple accountabilities. My 4-month-old daughter and wife also keep moral expectations that I stand beside them with unmatched commitment. I can’t extricate myself from either of the duties as it becomes strenuous for me. The circumstance is similar to slacklining over the rope by balancing marbles. Sooner I conceded the inevitability of context-switching, and I have never been good at that. These newly bestowed responsibilities made me ponder how to unlearn my aging practices and embrace recent changes running through my life without stymieing my work commitments. Besides, I favored acting as an equally responsible and caring father and husband. After several weeks of scouring through the web for pertinent articles, blogs, and v-blogs, I enlightened myself to modulate the context-switching astutely. I know there are thousands of greenhorn fathers like me. It motivates me to articulate 10-point-tips that might benefit others to cultivate their feasible way to cope with situations. Endeavoring fatherhood responsibilities made me cognized to be resilient, conserve inner energy, and enjoy the privilege of being a proud working father ebulliently.
Plan holistically for a week
If possible, plan holistically for a whole week, not just a day. You might have a doctor’s appointment for your baby. At the same time, you might have a critical meeting to attend. Deciding the urgency and importance of the matter is the key. Adjust your schedule according to your priorities.
Jotting down daily work responsibilities
Jot down your work responsibilities at the beginning of the day. Notebook, Microsoft todo app, or any convenient way can be followed. It will keep you informed about your work pressure. It enables you to plan adequately to get involved in house-help activities during work hours.
Keep finishing action points
Keep jotting down action points for yourself and strike them through as soon as you get time to focus and address them. This is somewhat challenging to settle all the action points in one go amidst miscellaneous chores during working hours. Rewriting every overflown action point each day makes sure that the tasks stay fresh in my mind. It should be organized by priority (which could shift daily) and ensure nothing falls through the cracks.
Keep responding to Emails/Slacks
If possible, keep acknowledging slack messages/emails as soon as you receive them. Be shrewd to leverage every spare minute you find in between your caregiving duties. If you can’t reply instantly, mark the message as unread to revert later.
Draw a fine-line between baby care and work duties
However, avoid mulling over the work when you look after the awakened baby. Office work should not be conflated with baby care! Believe me, it doesn’t benefit me in any way. I erred in the middle and realized it later. Wisdom is either you bestow quality time to your baby or get occupied with office work, but a fine line should be drawn in between.
Observe baby’s sleep patterns to get focused
Observe the baby’s sleeping habits during your office hours. Accordingly, try to be focused and productive during that nap time. Anyways be attentive to do the chores.
Proratize and attend meetings as neccessiates
Categorize must-attend daily meetings and meetings so that you can watch the recording later. Even though you can’t make it at the last moment, let the meeting attendees know about your unavailability and request for the recording. Many times it happened to me. My team helped me graciously in every circumstance. Communication is the key.
Ask your Leader for support if needed
This is wise to have an honest conversation with your Manager/Leader and ask for rational support to ease your duties! Don’t get driven by pre-assumptions and perceptions. Try to shape a sustainable ecosystem at the workplace to enable flexibility and thrive on success.
Discuss your baby-care responsibities with spouse and family members
Discuss with your spouse and immediate family members how alternatively you can turn yourself into a babysitter during office hours. This discussion is incredibly crucial to set pragmatic expectations for your family involved.
Find and use “me-time” to keep yourself mentally fresh
Embrace your imperfections and entropy around. Being human, this is absolutely all right to be imperfect. Getting overwhelmed and exhausted is also plausible. Thereby, it is indispensable to create a space for yourself to get indulged in your favorite avocation. It acts like a charm to rejuvenate your mental youthfulness and take you out of repetitive boredom.
This is my hard-earned wisdom. If you resonate with any of my thoughts, feel free to drop a note with your approach and stories.
