Home : Hints and tips for managing life pressures

Hints and tips for managing life pressures

Dealing with government departments

  • Ask for the name of the person that you are dealing with for future reference.
  • Keep copies of documents provided to each department (record the date, person and section they are sent to).

Getting time off work

  • Speak to your superiors and colleagues and explain your situation. Suggest a possible compromise - Friday afternoons off for an extra 35 minutes a day. Set a period of time for this then review it.
  • Know your limitations and let others know them too.

Smaller social network

  • Consider volunteering where the work is done on a group basis e.g. fire rescue service, life saving, your child’s school Parents and Friends network.

Learning to cook

  • Ask a friend to teach you to cook in exchange for doing some handy work, mowing their lawn, baby sitting or help with some other project they might have on.
  • Borrow a book from the library on cooking basic meals.

Maintaining the car

  • Look on the web for information on your brand of car.
  • Get road service membership such as NRMA or RACV for when you lock your keys in the car, have a flat tyre, you get a flat battery, or your car breaks down in an inconvenient location.
  • Take a course in car maintenance.

Shopping for groceries

  • Look on the web for home shopping grocery sites such as Coles or Woolworths. Browse through each section and make a list of what you need - use this as prompter each time you shop. It also gives you an idea of the costs involved.
  • Generic food brands are often cheaper and just as good as the label brands.
  • Join a group that buys groceries in bulk - this can be cheaper. Communicare is an organisation that offers help in this area.

Less money

  • Contact your local utility service company to arrange instalment payments for your electricity, telephone, insurance, rates etc.
  • Join a group that buys groceries in bulk - this can be cheaper. These are usually co-ops or local community groups.

Managing relationships

  • Ensure that the important people in your children’s lives are invited to school plays, religious ceremonies, music recitals, sport events etc.

Understanding your children’s routine

  • Have a calendar or notebook with important dates highlighted, e.g. sports carnival, swimming carnival, parent reading at school, doctors appointments, weekend sports locations etc.

Organising care for the kids

  • Talk to your child’s school and see what school care programs you can access e.g. before and after-school care or holiday programs.
  • Place a notice for parents in the school newsletter requesting child minding after school. In return, offer something that you can do for the other parent.
  • Enquire with your local community service provider about available child care programs.