How To Restore More Time and Energy Back To Your Family

You wake up feeling groggy and drained. You've got just enough patience to make breakfast and prep your kids for school. Wrapping up the workday brings a sigh of relief, but now it's errands, dinner, clean-up, homework, bath time, bedtime.

You manage to squeeze in a few minutes of conversation with your spouse before you crash. Tomorrow is another day. Let's do it again.

Almost every working parent feels they aren't giving their best to their family. But what can you do? There are too many tasks and not enough time. Too many demands and not enough energy.

The solution is simple, but it isn't easy. Here it is:

Spend the majority of your time on energizing tasks.

I told you, simple! Yet so many of the leaders I coach are not doing this, and they wonder why they feel like they're drowning.

Right-Hand vs. Left-Hand

All of us have "right-hand activities," tasks that fall into our natural strengths. Jobs we can do well at an unconscious level. These responsibilities may still be challenging, but they energize us.

And we all have "left-hand activities" (my apologies to all the lefties out there). These are not in our natural strengths but are learned behaviors. We may still be good at these jobs, but we have to think about it each step of the way - requiring extra time and mental energy. And most telling of all, they drain us.

Leadership Expert Steve Cockram develop the 70:30 Principle. It demonstrates the ideal balance of 70% of your time working with your right hand and 30% with your left.

Here's why this is crucial, spending the majority of your time on energizing tasks gives you the time and energy reserve you need for the inevitable draining ones.

Sink or Swim

If your ratio dips to 50% energizing, 50% draining - or 50:50 - you're treading water. Barely staying afloat.

Many of us are at 40:60 or worse. The majority of our time is spent on the draining. It's unsustainable. You're burning more fuel than you're putting in your tank. You may be able to drift for a while, but a crash is on the horizon.

This is why you come home with nothing left to give. Why playing with your kids feels like a chore. Why date night with your spouse never seems to happen.

How can you make a change? First, make a list of everything you spend time doing. Next, write a little "70" next to the energize tasks and a "30" next to the draining. Step back, take a look; what is your ratio right now?

Finally, write down one simple thing you can do to move closer to the ideal 70:30 balance.