… and it makes for a tasty new tradition!

It’s a wonderful opportunity to be able to create a life around what’s important to us, our work and family. But is it easy? No.

Mixing work + family life can be a challenge, whether you work in the home, from home or away from home.

And it’s not just a Mum thing, Dad’s feel the pressure too.

Can we do manage family + work life together in a way that doesn’t sacrifice one for the other? I think so.

In a two parent family, there’s probably one person who is more organised than the other. Maybe this is why opposites attract. So there’s someone who can make sure the kids take lunch to school with their shoes on 😉

Seriously though, just because one person is more organised it doesn’t mean they have to do all the planning, organising + thinking for everyone else in the family or in your team at work.

And if you’re a solo parent in your home, it doesn’t all have to fall on your shoulders once your children are old enough to contribute and take on some personal responsibility.

The great thing about this way of managing family + work is that you’re all in it together and everyone can grow in their own personal responsibility, lightening the load that often falls to the few who are more organised and gifted at planning.

I discovered this way of managing work + family life when we were home bound a few years ago. One thing lead to another with our car repair, and a few days added up to a month. Needless to say we had more time on our hands than usual.

Over breakfast one weekend we took the opportunity to plan a few jobs around the house that we’d been putting off for a while. And without a car we needed to organise the grocery shop and a few other things for the week ahead. At the time we thought we’d have our car back sometime during the week.

The next weekend we cooked a yummy breakfast and did the same thing. And so on each weekend. The guys loved the special breakfast and I loved that our week was better coordinated for home and work.

This one activity has so many benefits :

• helps your family or team be the best it can be
• achieve more together
• shares the responsibility
• have more fun
• more easily stay connected
• strengthens relationships
• celebrate the good times
• find more solutions to challenges
• have true balance in life
• live with purpose and passion

I created a format for our weekly breakfast meeting to include all kinds of things that would be helpful to chat about together.

Our family meetings usually start with an update of work and school, take a look at the calendar for any bills that need to be paid in the coming week, add any appointments and recap on what’s coming up in the next few weeks.

It’s also a great time to discuss anything that’s not working or needs attention and we find a solution together.

We finish with gratitude + prayer for the week ahead.

Gratitude is so important. Celebrating the wins, big and small, along the way fuels you. It gives you energy + builds momentum.

For business, I make a note of my income for the week, check my stats, review what’s working, what isn’t. It’s a time when I put on the CEO hat and collect data about what’s happening now so I can look back in the future and make informed decisions.

Each of us writes our own notes on what we need to do in the coming week as we all have a different way of planning and getting things done. What’s more important is that we work together to achieve our goals.

It is amazing what we have achieved together as a family and how much more connected we are to what’s happening in each of our lives.

Needless to say our unexpected month being home bound turned out to be a blessing in disguise, like so many are.

The thing I enjoy most about our weekly meeting is when we’re all in the kitchen cooking breakfast together. The chatter and banter is so much fun. It’s the perfect way to start the day and week ahead together.

FUSElife into one of meaning and passion

How to create a weekly meeting that everyone looks forward to

You can follow along in the FUSElife Planner Playbook on page 44 or use these steps below.

Collect : Bring everyone together

This is the perfect opportunity to create a tasty new tradition. Choose a day, time + format for the weekly meetings. Don’t forget to decide how you’d like to make it a celebration, something to look forward to each week for your family and/or colleagues.

Reflect : Looking back to move forward

Have a format of what kind of things you want to discuss in your meetings so everyone can be prepared ahead of time.

The weekly meeting is about reflection + connection. Once you’ve had one meeting you can look back and see what the next steps are in reaching your goals, together.

Make sure everyone has a turn to speak and be part of the discussion.

Connect : Make a plan

Everyone writes their own notes, updates the calendar and todos from the meeting.

#tip : I use the Monthly Master, ToDo List and Action Plans from my printable planner kits to note what needs doing from our family meeting and I add to it from my business meeting.

I’ll take a little while to find your rhythm for your meetings. Commit to having a weekly meeting for three months and make it a time your family and/or work colleagues enjoy.

For more insights on how to set your day up for success, including weekly review meetings, grab your copy of the FUSElife Planner Playbook.

Reflection, in the form of a weekly meeting is one of the most powerful activities you can include in your family + work life. Not only will you be more productive + achieve your goals, your relationships with strengthen as you celebrate + solve life’s challenges together.