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Balancing work with your new role as a Dad

Now there’s a new baby in your life you’ll need to work out how you can make enough time to keep your career progressing, as well as finding time to build a relationship with your baby and support your partner.

It may look like a lot of work and you can feel as though you won’t able to meet all the demands being placed on you. So here are a few tips that might help:

Keep life simple

Take the time to sit back and think about your key priorities in life and how you can find a balance between them all. You’re not Superman, and it may be that now you’ve had a baby it’s time to re-assess the things you want from life and how best to achieve them.

Planning and prioritising

It’s more important than ever now to plan your days. This means being realistic about what you’re going to be able to achieve in an hour, a day or a week – especially if you have sole care of your baby at any time.

Try not to take on too much, and keep communicating with your partner, manager, friends and relatives about how your life is going and how you feel about the level of stress you’re dealing with.

Set the boundaries on your working life

Try and avoid spending too much of your life at work. You don’t want to have your baby only to find that you miss out on many of the exciting and important events in her life.

Make a note of any medical checks or other vital dates in the lives of your partner and child. Arrange with your manager to attend as many of your baby’s medical check-ups as you can.

Look after yourself

Diet and exercise

Even though you’re busy with a new baby, try and think about yourself as well. You need to stay as healthy as you possibly can to provide support to your family. Find quick and easy ways to make sure you get a healthy energising diet, and get some form of regular exercise.

Choose salads, baked potatoes, pasta, healthy brown bread sandwiches or soup for lunch. If you’ve got a sweet tooth, try fresh fruit like pineapples and strawberries yogurts, smoothies and healthy breakfast cereals for a healthier intake of sugars.

To free up your evenings and to be there for your partner and baby, consider exercising during your working day. A lunch break can be used for a walk or run, or if you’re near a leisure centre, go for a quick swim.

Look out for symptoms of stress

If you feel the stress levels you’re experiencing are too high, don’t ignore the feelings. Stress can be extremely debilitating for your long term health; so speak to your doctor as soon as you start to feel as if you can’t cope.