The Days After Divorce: Five Ways to Re-unify Your Family

After you and your spouse have decided to divorce, it can be a challenge to keep your family on the same page when it comes to holiday visits, money matters and generally keeping the peace. You’ll likely need some outside assistance to keep your family as intact as possible. Maintaining and establishing unity in the family will also be a matter of making certain personal choices that will better the family overall. Here are a few tips to keep in mind that can make divorce a little easier to deal with.

 

Consider Divorce Mediation

One of the best ways to settle important issues during a divorce is to attend mediation. This is likely offered by the attorney or law firm that is handling your divorce. Your lawyer will explain how divorce mediation works and will likely give you and your ex-spouse forms to fill out so you can answer questions pertaining to custody and asset management. During mediation sessions, you and your spouse will sit down with your legal representation to determine who is entitled to property like houses and automobiles, and who the children will live with full-time. When you settle these issues with the help of an attorney, it’s more likely that you’ll be able to control your temper and resolve issues quicker.

 

Have Conversations At the Appropriate Times

When you’re spending time as a family unit during the holidays or a child’s birthday, don’t have discussions about child support and alimony. Make family time special and anxiety-free for yourself and your children by reserving adult conversations for a later time, especially if you know the discussion could get heated.

 

Plan Family Outings

Try to be as civil as possible with your ex so that the two of you can go on family outings with your children. This sends the message to your kids that being a great parent is a priority to you, despite the divorce. In addition to holidays and special occasions, your kids need to spend quality family time with both parents, and both you and your ex should be committed to accomplishing this.

 

Don’t Criticize

No matter what, don’t speak negatively about your ex in front of your children. This taints their view of their other parent, and can make them feel as though they have to choose sides. WebMD also warns against passing messages to your ex through your children. Kids don’t need to take on the adult issues that likely led to your divorce; the messages you send my cause your child to see you or your ex in a negative or confusing light. Divorce is already difficult for children, so don’t make it worse by criticizing your ex-spouse–even if you feel justified.

 

Think About Family Counseling

Going to therapy as a family can also help to unify your loved ones. Counseling can also make it easier for everyone to talk about their feelings or bring up family issues. Divorce can be somewhat of a grieving process for everyone in the family, so counseling sessions can assist all family members in coming to terms with this new way of life.

 

The more work you do to keep the family together, the better off your children will be. Learning to get along with your ex-spouse can also contribute greatly to your peace of mind and give you the courage to embark upon new experiences in life.

 

About the author: A recent college graduate from University of San Francisco, Anica loves dogs, the ocean, and anything outdoor-related. She was raised in a big family, so she’s used to putting things to a vote. Also, cartwheels are her specialty. You can connect with Anica here. For more information on how divorce mediation works, Anica suggests you check out the professional services of www.cadivorcemediation.com.

Categories: Children, divorce, divorce mediation, Family, family outings, family time, life nbsp, mediation works, nbsp, re-unify

Work Life Off Balance? How to Recover Your Calm

Your family understands the challenge that you face each day as you try to run a successful business and still make your presence and importance known in your own household. As challenging as it might be, however, you can still achieve the perfect balance of home and work. While your everyday thoughts may center on profits and your business’s viability, it is important that you reorganize your way of thinking and learn how to rely on others as you build a successful business. When you take these important steps, you can achieve the balance between work and family that you desire.

 

1. Stick to a Daily Schedule

Even if your business operates around-the-clock, it can be vital for you to work a regular schedule. If you are running to and from your business all day long, your spouse and kids may miss out on seeing you and spending time with you. If you work a regular schedule, however, you will find it is easier for you and your family to schedule time together. They will know what hours you are working and be able to free up time in their own busy lives to spend at home with you.

 

2. Delegate Authority

The company may bear your name or have you as its owner; however, this fact does not mean that you must be in charge all day long. If you hire and train managers to act in your stead while you are gone, you can take days off, spend time with family, and even enjoy a vacation every now and then when you delegate authority to these managers. They can act with your authority and carry out your wishes while allowing you to take some needed time off from your work duties.

 

3. Outsource Your Marketing

If you are worried about how you will make your presence known in the competitive market, you may try to spend as much time as possible at your business trying to come up with ways to market and advertise your brand. However, if this area of business is not your forte, you could fare better by outsourcing your SEO needs to an experienced company, such as Everspark Interactive, that handles these tasks for business owners.

You can strike the family and work life balance you need when you outsource your brand development and marketing to an SEO company.

 

4. Remember Your Family’s Schedules

As a business owner, it can be very easy to get caught up in the day-to-day operations of your company. In little time, you could start believing that your world revolves around you and what you need to be successful.

However, you should remember that your children and spouse also need you to be a part of their lives. They should be the center of your world, along with your business. If you remember to go to their concerts, sports events, school meetings, and other activities, you can remember that you are a family person and have commitments to your loved ones as well.

 

5. Make it a Family Business

You can strike a good family and work balance when you make your business all about family. You can spend time with your loved ones if you bring them aboard and allow them to have some say in how your business is run every day. Some of the most successful businesses in the world are those that are run by families rather than a single owner.

 

Taking these suggestions into mind can help you remain calm and maintain a good balance between work and family. You can enjoy being successful at both home and work if you remember that your family loves and needs you to be present in their lives.

 

As a business owner with a large family, Lisa Coleman understands the importance of achieving and maintaining a well-established routine and work-life balance. Outsourcing online marketing needs to a professional company, such as Everspark Interactive, can help one obtain such balance while helping to make the business grow and prosper.

 

Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/100642687@N03/9787417344/

Categories: business marketing, business owner, day long, delegate authority, everspark interactive, family responsibilities, family time, Family Wellness, life balance, regular schedule

Against the Clock: Time Management for Working Parents

Family wellness is a difficult enough task when you’re not working. You’ve got to ensure the kids are all happy (but not spoilt), stimulated (but not overly stimulated), and healthy and clean (but still allowed to be kids). Taking care of your child’s wellbeing can be a six or seven person job, so how on earth do you maintain your corporate wellness on top of that?

Time is like gold dust when you’re a working parent, and so managing it becomes of the utmost importance. Firstly, don’t fall into the trap of multitasking. You may think you can leave the office early and work from home whilst watching the kids, but two hours later your work is unfinished, and all you have to show for your time is lovely crayon drawings on the walls. Whether you need to concentrate on work or family life, pick one and switch off other distractions like smartphones, social media and emails.

Next, sort out your priorities. Some work to-do items will need your attention, and others will carry more emotional weight. Combine those to-do lists and tackle the most onerous tasks first, so you’ll know things are only going to get better. Remember that both family life tasks and work life tasks are important, they just need a little bit of sorting so you don’t drop the ball on one.

Whilst getting the most out of your time is important to achieve a decent work-life balance, remember that you also need time to do nothing and just be. Pad out your activities with periods of quiet – “serendipity space” – where there is nothing to do and nowhere to go. Some of the best family moments arise out of these times, such as in-the-moment puddle-jumping or sofa snuggling, and if you’re in a hurry to be somewhere or do something, you might miss them.

Finally, take advantage of those little five minutes in your day here and there where you can complete little tasks. Have these jobs queued up in your to-do list so that you’ve always got something useful to do when you’re waiting for something else. Save up tasks such as making phone calls, checking social media, responding to email, doing self-care tasks that fall by the wayside (e.g., nail filing, stretching), tidying up, even a single drawer or surface, sorting the post, and looking ahead in your calendar and to-do list to see where you could benefit from a little forward planning or preparation.

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Against the Clock: Time Management for Working Parents

Categories: family time, Time Management, working parents