Balancing research, teaching, clinical work, and family: nine suggestions for young professionals
Balancing research, teaching, clinical work, and family: nine suggestions for young professionals

Summary/Abstract: Balancing multiple professional roles and a family can be demanding. The current paper is a non-evidence based list of informal, anecdotal suggestions for professionals who strive to balance multiple work roles with the demands of raising young children. It is important to note I make no claims that this is an evidence-based method for achieving optimal work-family balance. Rather, I was invited to this conference to discuss my own experiences balancing work and family; this paper reflects that non-scientific aim, and includes a list of nine suggestions that I hope will be helpful to some. I am a licensed clinical psychologist in the United States. My primary position is as an associate professor at a mid-sized university, and my secondary position is as a clinical psychologist in the community. I am married and I have one child, and I recognize that the following suggestions might be most helpful to those who are demographically similar to me. The nine suggestions I propose include: 1) Be a single-tasker, 2) Use daycare hours wisely, 3) Establish parameters for your work email, 4) Outsource the chore you dislike most, 5) Designate a primary parent for discrete periods of time, 6) Play with your children, 7) Take good vacations, 8) Learn to say no, and 9) Attend to your own mental health. Each of these anecdotal suggestions is discussed in turn, and the interested reader is pointed to some empirical articles for further reading.

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