Working odd hours has its fair share of downsides, among them is the difficulty of maintaining relationships. If you work night shifts, you may be taking naps in the evenings before work, missing out on family dinners or putting your kids to bed. So here are some simple ways you can make the most of family time when you’re on night shifts.
Have breakfast as family
Depending on your hours, you may be home in time to enjoy breakfast with your family. This one might seem pretty odd because as they fuel up for the day, you’re getting ready to crawl into bed. Although you may not want to sit down to a full meal and a cup of coffee, plan to sit at the table with your family and enjoy their company for a few minutes before they all go about their day.
Pick your kid(s) up from school
If you have kids in school, take advantage of the afternoon hours and try incorporating a daily pickup. Doing this will allow you to spend focused, daily quality time with your kid(s) before you head off to work.
Make weekends count
If you get weekends off, be sure to plan ahead. Weekends can easily fill up with errands, chores around the house and anything else you neglected during the week. Be sure to set aside time to spend with your loved ones, this way the weekend doesn’t pass you by without some focused family time.
Get your kid(s) to help you
Got errands to run? Need to wash the car? Make it a family event! Don’t be afraid to involve your kids(s) in the more mundane tasks you have to do on the weekends or in the evenings before work. It might surprise you how enjoyable chores and errands can be if you have a little company.
Working nights is hard enough as it is, then there’s the added difficulty of maintaining your relationships with family and friends. By taking advantage of small slots of time in your day, you won’t need to sacrifice quality time with your family for your job.
Comments are closed.