ChicExecs Co-Founder and Co-President Kailynn Bowling shares how to be the CEO of your household on Forbes blog. Here is an highlight from the article.
It’s the eternal struggle: Parents fight every day for balance between their lives as professionals and their duties as involved parents. But some days, it feels like you just can’t win. The pile of dirty laundry is several feet high. Your clients are calling you after hours in a panic, and you can barely think about getting through the day, let alone the workweek.
As tough as it can be, a balance between home and work is critical. This not only makes your home life more enjoyable and less chaotic, but it helps you be more productive at work, too.
But how do you streamline your home life to be less chaotic? Instead of reading more parenting books, look to your 9-to-5 job for the answer.
That’s right: You can run your home like a business.
Follow these three best practices to go from chaos to boss in your home.
1. Divide tasks by job title.
Have you ever looked at a sink full of dishes and thought, “Ugh, why hasn’t anyone washed these?” It’s like cleaning the office fridge or refilling the printer’s toner: If you want something done, you need to assign it to one person.
Do the same at home. Give yourself, your spouse and your kids official job titles. Maybe you’re the CEO, your spouse is the CFO, your eldest is the general manager and your younger kids are interns. However it looks for your household, give everyone an “official” title at home. Feel free to make this fun and whimsical for your kids with job titles like “unicorn herder” or “megatron maximus.”
2. Be accountable for your role in the household.
The best plans mean nothing if you don’t follow through on them. Of course, getting a kid to take out the trash can feel like a herculean task.
Never fear, boss. You can build accountability into your home roles, much like you do at work. After all, kids usually won’t stick with a new habit unless they’re held accountable. Remind everyone that they’re doing their part to keep the household running smoothly.
3. Consider outsourcing.
You wouldn’t expect your employees to do it all at work. Sometimes it makes sense for a business to outsource with a new software or with contractors, especially if you don’t have the internal resources to handle a workload. The same is true for your home life.
If it’s appropriate and feasible for your budget, hire experts to do the heavy lifting when you need help. That may mean hiring someone to clean, mow the lawn, cook or care for your children. If you have very young children, keep in mind that a nanny could take over that child’s “job duties.”
Read Kailynn’s entire blog here.
