How to Find Family Time When You’re Too Busy

Quality and quantity time are both equally important when it comes to family relationships.
Unfortunately too many families these days just don’t seem to have enough time to spend the kind of quality and quantity time they need for their families and marriages to really flourish and thrive. But there are some things that can be done to help with that.

Ask yourself

First, look at your schedule. Is there anything that is not absolutely necessary that you can trim out? We are talking about priorities here. It can be super freeing to trim your schedule anyway. Do what you need to do.

Can you organize your day and your schedule smarter? (Am I being a good steward of my time?)

Does getting up earlier and having breakfast together and starting the day together work better than having dinner together?

Are your bedtime and morning routine very hectic and chaotic? Can you organize them so they are smoother so you have more time to interact? Can you lay out your clothes the night before? Can you make ahead breakfasts?All it may take for some people is to actually put a structure in place for these times.

Utilize mealtime as quality time together, not just a time to chow down. Sit down and eat together and turn off the TV.

Is there a night of the week that you can have a “special family night”? Have a night where you order or make your own pizzas or some sort of special meal. And/or have a special snack you make and do some kind of fun tradition together.

Show you love each member of your family through intentional acts

• Kindness
• praise for good things they do
• telling them how much you care about them
• making them a special treat just because
• notes in their lunch box
• showing up early to their activities and actually watching and getting involved
• not being late picking them up from practice
• being silly with them whenever you have a chance
• taking time to have one on one time, even if it’s just a quick trip to the grocery store and grab a sonic blast on the way home
• spray their pillows with a bedtime sleep spray
• make their meals just as beautiful as they are tasty
• make your home beautiful and inviting
• clean and organize your home
• pray for them in front of them and in quiet
• have prayer time together
• sit down and actually listen to what they have to say
• make them something
• be involved in their sports or hobbies somehow
• Play a board game with them like checkers for example

Even though some of these things are for when you are not together, it lets them know that you are thinking of them when you are not together. It’s making a special connection.

Take a vacation!

Not necessarily one that revolves around expensive theme parks, either. Not only is that costly and somewhat stressful, but you don’t want to draw your focus to outside things, you want to focus on time together and really cultivating a deeper relationship. Camping is one great way to do this. A lot of time to have creative fun, without TV and lots of time for conversation. Cheaper so it’s much less stressful and sometimes where the truly memorable moments are.

You’ve got to do the best with what you’ve got. Evaluate your time and be wise with it and don’t beat yourself up over the rest. It’s amazing how much grace children will give to their parents, especially when they can see that they are being genuine. Just stick with it and try to have fun whenever you can!