If you have young children, be home for bed time 5 days a week

If the kids are older, drop them a message each evening this week to let them know you are thinking of them.

But I have work, I have meetings, I have travel, I have a busy schedule…

When I started working for myself it was a relentless push to get busy. I would say yes to networking events, to meetings, to seminars, to events and to phone calls, regardless of who it was with, what the potential for success was or why I was going in the first place. But I was busy!

Truth is I was busy being busy. And it wasn’t’ until I had the realisation that by saying yes to everything with my work I was choosing to say no to my responsibilities at home that I began to be more productive with my time and get more present at home.

We all have busy periods I’m sure. Seasonal trends and business patterns emerge differently, but we have to be grown up about it and see that when we are quieter or have the ability to build work about our life and not fit life in to our work, we can become not only more productive in a professional sense but wholly more productive at home.

One of the best things I did here was to actually diarise some time at home. If my diary looked blank at the beginning of the week I would do all I can to fill it with work. However, if I put in my diary a ‘busy’ task or ‘home time 6pm’, I will build my work around it. And guess what? It isn’t damaging work at all! Yes, when I am working away, I work away – I’m not perfect. But in the times when my workload is more admin based, business development led or general tasks, I use my time much more appropriately so when the time comes that I do need to be away, it isn’t as much of a burden on the household.