How Working Parents Can Strategically Prioritize Their Time

With the many demands at home and at work, working parents need to strategically prioritize their responsibilities, so their time is spent on what make matters. They must ask themselves, what do I, as a parent, need to do that is unique? What adds the most value to my children’s lives? And what can be done by other people?

Every working parent will answer these questions differently. But in general, we can break down parenting into four different types of work. First, pastoral care, or the intellectual and emotional engagement with your children. Second, decision making, which includes deciding what is best for your children, problem solving, and navigating trade-offs. Third, logistics, or transporting children, asking them to do their homework, following through on decision making, and organizing activities. Finally, household support — all the tasks required for with running the household, such as cooking, cleaning, laundry, and errands. Prioritizing pastoral care and decision making can have the greatest positive impact on children, while much of the latter two can be delegated to others in your parenting ecosystem.