Work-life balance is one of the most important things people look for in their jobs but sometimes you find yourself stuck at a job that leaves you little time to do anything else. It may seem like you don’t have a choice and just have to deal with the problems at work and simply won’t have time to spend with your family but that is simply not true. Most people work to earn a living and improve the standard of living of their families and what good is working if you can’t enjoy your life with your family?

One of the very first things you need to do is to establish clear boundaries at work. Unless there is an emergency you should not be expected to work after hours or late at night. Once you start letting your boss know that these practices are against work ethics and are unacceptable to you, he or she might think twice before making you stay after hours. Next, you need to change your style of working a little bit. Take minimal breaks and avoid procrastination to try to work efficiently so you can finish the work assigned to you in time to get home to your family.

Getty Images/DigitalVision/Klaus Vedfelt

Also, you need to force yourself to do something with your family on the weekend. You might feel like just relaxing at home but even if you are home, make an active effort to do something together. Maybe cook something together or play a board game or go out for dinner. Remember you don’t get a huge quantity of time, so you need to make sure that the little time that you do get might be little in quantity but it must be great in quality. Quality time with activities would be a great way to bond and make up for lost time with your loved ones.