Time Management at Home

Time management at home is critically important for the family.

In a study by Galinskey (1999), parents and children consider being unrushed and focused as the most important aspect of the time they spend together. Home time management is about making the time you spend with your family count.

Home and family time management will help parents deal with increasing workloads, family pressures, and increase the quality time with your family.

I often get asked if there is a big difference between work time management and time management at home?

The short answer is – not really.

When I examine the time usage of people at work and people at home, there is not a big difference between people at home and people at work. Telephone interruptions and drop-in visitors, as well as crises in the office and home are similar.

One of the differences was the amount of time that is spent ‘chauffeuring’ children to football games, swimming lessons and school activities.

What is apparent when examining people’s usage of time is that what acts as a timewaster in the office is also apparent in the home. The inability to say No, trying to do it all, shifting priorities, procrastination and not finishing tasks are prevalent at home as well as in the office.

This suggests that to be effective at home, similar principles to being effective at work are needed. To be effective in your family time it is important to:

1. Construct family goals together.
2. Prioritize these family goals together.
3. Know how you spend your time as a family and individually.
4. Schedule and prioritize your tasks.
5. Delegate tasks within your family and/or get hired help.

Ways that you can do this at the family level are provided in these family time management tips.

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