Family First--unless...

 There will always be important things demanding our attention that can easily be justified over our families. "I'm working late so I can have enough money for my family." Over time, we will gradually justify a few little things at a time until we find ourselves so busy, we rarely have time for our family.

My husband has worked in business for 15 years. In that time, he has seen many examples of how people choose to balance work and family. He has also adopted boundaries that help him keep a healthy balance. Some of his boundaries are not having work-related dinners, unless spouses are invited, not working Sundays, and arranging business trips so he is home before Sunday. There have definitely been customers who were upset or annoyed at his commitments to his family, but he stayed true to his boundaries.

I learned another tip from a book my cousin wrote (Purify: What Clean Water Teaches Us About Making Smarter Decisions in Business and in Life). He talked about hiring competent employees and training them well so you can delegate responsibilities to them and thus them to take care of things while you are away. This is an excellent solution to a lot of executives who spend excessively late hours at work making sure everything is working correctly. If you have well-trained employees you trust and are willing to give up control, they will be fully capable of managing things when you're gone.

I can learn from his example by frequently checking in to make sure the way I spend my time is consistent with my priorities. Each week, I print off a calendar and write my weekly commitments on it. Then, I choose when I will spend time with my family. I am able to see which things I have time for during the week and which things aren't as important. Hanging my calendar on my bedroom door gives me a chance to visually see what I should be spending my time on throughout the day.