As a father, your active involvement in your family contributes to its strength and stability, as well as to your children’s achievement and behaviour. With today's pressures of work and other priorities, achieving work-life harmony can be difficult for fathers, but not impossible.

Given the dual responsibilities of work and family, you do have to exercise some measure of control over when, where and how you work, in order to enjoy the optimal quality of life.

Here are some tips to help you find that balance between work and family.

1. Stop Being a Workaholic

If you work late every day, you will miss the truly important things at home. Try to leave work on time at least three days each week. This will give you more time with the family and keep the important things in life -like family relationships- in perspective.

You need to understand that it is not only nice to achieve some measure balance, but absolutely necessary for you and your family.

2. Keep Children Informed and Involved When You Travel

If you have to go away, leave notes, recorded messages or videos of yourself – telling your children how much you love and miss them. You can even record yourself reading a favourite bedtime story for them.

Discuss the trip with your children when you return. Show them pictures and share stories to help them feel included.

3. Say No to the Unimportant

How a father spends his time tells his children what's important to him. If you always seem too busy for your children, they will feel neglected no matter what you say. Treasuring children often means sacrificing other things, hence it is essential to say no to the unimportant.

Effective priority-setting is imperative. Learn ways to set priorities on the things that matter most and to say "no" to the things that matter least. Avoid “time wasters”.  Remember that kids grow up quickly and missed opportunities are forever lost.

4. Pace Yourself

Like any long-distance athlete, you need to pace yourself to maximise your effectiveness. The same applies to your efforts at achieving work-life balance. Take short breaks or breathers if that is all you can afford. Make good use of downtime and get enough sleep and exercise.

5. Take Care of Yourself

Managing your personal health is essential to balancing work and life. With more energy, it is easier to engage in and enjoy a variety of activities. So take proper physical care of your body through diet and exercise.

Eat balanced meals, avoid fast food and limit your intake of simple sugars and fat. On top of that, try to make time for at least 30 minutes of aerobic exercise three days per week.

Exercise will raise your metabolism, making it easier to manage your weight. It also releases endorphins that will improve your attitude. Lastly, get regular medical checkups.

6. Simplify Your Life

Invite less confusion and stress into your life. Be focused on living by your personal values – evaluate the activities you are currently involved in and let go of projects which do not align with your values.

7. Eat Together As a Family

Try to have at least one meal a day together. Involve the children in the meal preparation or setting of the table, but remember to keep it simple. Turning off the television provides for more undistracted dinner conversation.

Take special note that family meal time is not the time to engage in serious debates. It may not always work, but family mealtime can become a highlight of the day and a way to build some pleasant family memories.

8. Find a Family-Friendly Workplace

As far as possible, select an employer that will be friendly to your family commitments and that supports your personal priorities. For example, explore whether you can schedule your work hours flexibly, or work from home at times, so that you can fit your family into your daily routine.

9. Join a Fathers’ Support Group

Being a part of a fathers' group can help you find ideas for better work-life balance and for reducing the stresses related to fatherhood. Such a platform also offers you the opportunity to share and learn from other fathers’ experiences.

This allows you to celebrate your small successes as a father. You might be able to avoid an otherwise steep learning curve in the process. Fathers’ Support Groups also provide access to suitable role models.

10. Start Having a Family Night

Set aside one night a week to be together without interruptions and excuses. Modify your work schedules, set aside other demands and commit to spending that evening together.

References:
1. http://fatherhood.about.com/od/workingfathers/tp/balance_ideas.htm
2. http://www.fatherhoodinstitute.org
3. http://www.fatherhood.org/resources.asp
4. http://www.fira.ca/resources.php
5. http://www.fatherhood.org/research.asp
6. http://www.scotthyoung.com/blog/2006/03/18/balancing-work-and-leisure/
7. http://missourifamilies.org/features/parentingarticles/parenting60.htm

About the Author: The DadsforLife Resource Team comprises local content writers and experts, including psychologists, counsellors, educators and social service professionals, dedicated to developing useful resources for dads.