Have you been enjoying your single parent lifestyle as of late? If not, you’re most certainly not alone in feeling like this. Many Australian single parents feel the same, and they’ve found that the single parent life is a lot harder than they previously expected. Rest and relaxation are hard to come by, let alone having some fun on the side. Parents are quickly feeling the effects of burnout and they’re struggling with getting through the day. Avoiding this is a matter of changing your situation for the better and trying your best to enjoy life. It might be difficult, but it’s definitely achievable. Here’s how.
Find support in friends
Being a single parent can get pretty stressful at times. Lots of young Australian parents will be very familiar with this feeling. You’re expected to be ready and able all day, every day. Not only does this put enormous pressure on you to constantly stay vigilant, but it also leaves you with nothing to fall back on when you’re caught in a bad situation. Let’s say you get sick one day and you can’t take your child to practice or school, what are you supposed to do? You can’t just leave everything up to chance.
Single parents should always strive to have a good community around them. Develop support in your close ones, as they’re the ones who are trying to look out for you most. Stay close with your family and neighbours and see if you can count on them when things get tough. Just having a support system around you would ease the burden tremendously. If they can do you a solid when something goes wrong, you can rest easy knowing nothing will go wrong.
Schedule time for yourself
When you’re busy trying to take care of your child and further your career, it can be pretty difficult to give attention to other important aspects of your life. At the end of your day, you’re probably too tired to enjoy much of your hobbies and you would rather relax for a minute and then go to sleep. Organizing your schedule is difficult enough as is, finding any additional time probably feels like an impossible task.
However, it’s something you should consider, even when you’re at your busiest. You would be surprised at how much extra time you could find if you looked into your schedule with some focus. Remember to carve out a part of the day that’s to be used for just “you time”.
Dedicate an hour or two for one of your hobbies or doing something nice for yourself. Give yourself a spa day to relax and unwind. Having a breather in-between stretches of being a super-parent would be a much-needed addition to your everyday life. You can look forward to some weekend fun or you might prefer doing a little something every single day. Whichever way your schedule allows you to enjoy the day, make sure you utilize it fully.
Have a clean split with your partner
Divorce isn’t as uncommon as it once was in Australia. People split up for a variety of reasons that range from financial problems to personal issues. Some relationships aren’t meant to last forever and people move on with their lives. However, the situation gets a bit more complicated when you add your children to the equation. Sometimes, you have to set aside your differences and cooperate with the child’s other parent for their sake.
This isn’t something that can be easily achieved, especially if there are legal issues between the two of you. Whether it’s alimony payments or splitting of assets, things can get especially hectic after a divorce or separation. Try your best have a clean legal split so that there are no ongoing issues while you’re focusing on parenting. It would be wise to search among the trustworthy family law firms like Doolan Wagner Family Lawyers, as they can provide you with ample help in finalizing your divorce in a way that benefits both parties. After all, you want to have some peace of mind while taking care of your children.
Connect with your friends
Friendships are always talked about as having two phases. The first one occurs while you’re still young and care-free and you can hang out with friends pretty much whenever you please. The second one starts when your friends start creating their own families and having children. With the addition of their full-time jobs, it might be hard to get ahold of them to just hang out or chat. This phase is something you want to avoid, especially as a single parent.
It’s pretty hard to find time to hang out when you’re a parent, but it becomes even harder when you’re a single parent. Not only do you have no time to spare, but you’re also likely busy with organizing various parts of your child’s life and your own life. Part of the reason it’s hard to spend time with friends is that hangouts tend to last a lot longer than you expect. This takes away too much of your time and you’re left with tons of work on your hands.
Try to organize short hangouts and gatherings with your friends. Go out for coffee somewhere close and have a chat. It’s important that you maintain friendships and see your friends often. Perhaps you could invite them over to your home for lunch or dinner. You’re going to be making it anyway, so why not save time and show off your culinary skills at the same time?
Conclusion
While enjoying your free time might be difficult as a single parent, it’s not impossible. You need to take care of some crucial things before you can fully relax and start enjoying yourself. When you have things taken care of, you can sit back and enjoy spending time with your children and doing the things you love.
