This post is part of the #YPSportsChat Blog Series! This series will give young professionals an inside look at the intricacies of the sports business world and advice on how to navigate it.
By: Erik Holth, @ejholth
More and more young professionals now are looking for jobs that help them maintain a work-life balance because, especially in the time which we live, it can be very difficult to pry yourself away from a job to spend time with your family. As a young sports professional with a family, I have found myself, in the past, struggling to spend time with my family and meet the goals of my profession. That’s when I came up with a strategy that helped me and I hope helps you.
Sports Information at its busiest time can take up to 20 hours of your day. As a family-oriented person, being away from them for that long would be very hard. So…how do I do it on game days? It was tough, but I have been fortunate to have some very understanding co-workers.
First, work from home as much as you can. When the game wraps up and you have done everything that you NEED to do from the school end, go home and do the rest of it from there. Make sure you have the proper tools to help you accomplish this, such as Word and the Adobe Creative Cloud on your laptop or home computer to make this easier. Whilst at home, it shows your family not only that a) you care about their needs, but b) you are available to help with anything that is needed. As long as you continuously meet the needs of your department and get the work done in a timely manner you are completing both professional and personal goals.
Second, make sure you keep your family updated on the goings on and invite them to come watch you in action or just bring you food or enjoy nice weather. The more your family is connected to you, the better you will be able to do your job. For example, I spent 14 hours working a softball tournament when my daughter was nine months old. My wife knew that I would need food, so she went and got Burger King and we sat at the stadium between one of the games and ate and talked and hashed out details of when I would be returning home that evening. I know, for me at least, having my wife and daughter around really helps me want to do my best and make sure that others around me are doing the same.
Finally, always put your family before your job, especially on office days. When you have something to get finished, but it doesn’t need to be finished for several days, put it on the back burner and work on it whilst in the office. That way, your priority is on family and you can focus on your work life at work and your home life at homeI hope these tips will be helpful for those that have families now or will have families in the future.
