How to Find More Time for Your Family

Make priorities. There are so many things you can and want to do, but many of them you always postpone and finally forget about them. Try to make a short list of your priorities (only 4 or 5 items, no more) and keep to it. Making family time your priority means, that you will have no time for other stuff that is outside of the list.

Learn to say “No”. You might plan a great weekend with your family, but there comes some urgency, for example, it's your work. If you say “Yes”, it means, that your plans are ruined. And if you say “No”, you will spend great time with your family. Although you won't be very popular at your work, but you have great family relationship.

Have family meals. Set at least one dinner for immediate family only. Make this dinner a ritual, when family members take turn in selecting and preparing meals. Such evenings will slow down your life, and you will be able to talk a lot and stay together.

Switch off TV. Do you happen to know that TV is one of the greatest time wasters? Switch off TV and you and your children will have lots of free time. Make sure that you turn this free time into quality time, that's why play table games, go for walks, visit friends, and relatives. In case you're not able to refuse watching TV at all, then make all your family members cut down on it. A small list of things, that everyone can do instead of watching TV, will help avoid boredom.

Delegate some chores. Lot's of work that you do everyday can stay undone and the roof of your house won't fall down. For instance, you shouldn't scrub the kitchen floor everyday! So divide your chores into “Have to do”, “Don't have to” and “Delegate”. Do only stuff that you have to do, and the rest delegate to other family members or do only on the weekend.

Double up the dinner you cook. There is no need to cook everyday and throw away leftovers. Be more imaginative with what you do and learn to cook in advance. For instance, when you make lasagna, then double up the recipe and freeze the second part for the next time. Use leftovers for tomorrow's sandwiches or pasta salads. Fruit salad can be mixed with cereal or yogurt for breakfast, etc. And don't be ashamed to keep a couple of precooked pizzas in your freezer and use them when you have to stay late at work and don't have time to cook.

Create your own traditions. There is no need to wait till Christmas or birthday to spend time together. You can create your own family traditions right now: a family dinner every Friday, a special breakfast every Saturday and even family-only Sunday!