If you’re a working adult, there’s a good chance you lead a busy life. You might get lost in long hours working on weekdays, the catch-up on chores when you get home, and weekends that feel like they go by in seconds.
With so much going on, it’s hard to spend quality time with family — even if you’re well-intentioned. But like seeing friends and finding moments to be alone, spending time with your family aids your work-life balance and brings you closer to the people you love.
Quality time is more than eating together at a quiet dinner table or driving the kids to school. It’s about giving your full attention and building family bonds without interruption or distraction. And whether you’re aware of it or not, all family members reap the benefits of spending valuable time together.
Here’s how to use your quality time to the fullest:
1. Create traditions
Family rituals have the potential to improve every member’s physical and mental health, and they let you build shared experiences that feel unique.
Watching certain movies on certain holidays year after year, hiking the same series of trails each spring, or going back to familiar restaurants for birthdays each creates memories. And knowing you’ll be back again next year builds anticipation.
Family traditions are born when you repeat certain activities that feel special, and sometimes they last for generations. Your younger family members will enjoy the time they spent together and carry it on, and your parents and older family members will be glad to see you continue the routines they started years before.
2. Share household chores
Daily, weekly, or monthly household chores seem like a burden, especially for kids who don’t understand why cleaning is so important. But try looking at these tasks from a different perspective.
People who live in tidy homes are much more likely to report good health, and doing chores together speeds up the process and gives you the chance to spend quality time. You’ll share the accomplishment of a tidy home while carrying out a must-do duty as a team.
3. Teach skills
Another powerful way to spend time with your family is to share skills or complete a project together. This could be a creative activity or something traditional to your culture, like cooking a meal, sewing a toy, or making art. This gives you the chance to spend time together and teaches everyone a new skill. Plus, you might create an end product or skill to treasure forever.
Maybe someone in your family is an accomplished carpenter. That person can develop a project, like building a deck or birdhouse, and encourage everyone to participate. The whole family will learn how to complete the process and develop new hard skills. And they’ll experience a powerful sense of contentment when they finish the job.