Use Business Strategies to Be a Better Parent

I used to be a librarian.

I used to be a newspaper reporter.

I used to be a market researcher in publishing.

Then I became a parent.

I started to wonder, why cant I reclaim the passion and enthusiasm I felt in the office?

The more I thought about it, the more it made sense to apply certain work strategies to parenthood.

Heres how to do it.

InThe Renaissance Soul, Margaret Lobenstine coaches people to find focus among their scattered desires.

From there, you’re free to gauge whether the energy you spend is supporting those values.

Next, you need concrete goals.

For example, my family is blessed with acres of closet space but we have no organization system.

Organizing the closets has become a family goal because I know it will cut down on our daily frustration.

Define your workday

When parenting is your job, the workday never ends, right?

Why cant parents do the same?

At about 7 p.m. every night, we all transition to bedtime mode.

To-do lists are put away and we attempt to only do quiet, relaxing activities.

Ive set even tighter limits on activities away from homeno appointments, classes, or playdates outside of 9-5.

Working overtime would just leave us all grouchy and stressed.

Tell your partner or the kids, I need to make phone calls to schedule our week.

I can give you my attention in about 15 minutes.

Just as with coworkers, sometimes diplomacy can go a long way at home.

Planning ahead can help you group similar tasks and get into a productive flow.

I plan for the week ahead on Sunday (in my real, full-size, professional persons planner).

I am a total nerd for time-management techniques.

Multitasking has become a dirty word in favor of focusing on one activity at a time.

Still, the current popular theories hold thatwe are most productive when alternating focus and shaking it up.

Sometimes I set a timer for five minutes.

The point is to focus, for whatever amount of time seems reasonable in the situation.

Since kids love timers, why not teach them about thePomodoro Technique?

They can look forward to having your undivided attention for five minutes afterward.

In business and psychotherapy, listening well is a real Jedi mind trick.

You are speaking to someone, you know they are listening intently, and you pause.

They dont fill in the quiet space, so you talk a little more.

By doing nothing, that person just drew more information out of you.

This works with kids too!

InSimply Said, Jay Sullivan writes about effective communication.

Eye contact, engaged posture, and asking open-ended questions are important parts of what Sullivan calls executive presence.

With this action plan, you might just gain more clarity and structure in your parenting life.

Though unfortunately, youll still have to brew your own pot of coffee.