As a working parent a good work/life balance helps to keep you motivated, happy and in the right frame of mind. Creating quality time for you to spend with your family is important for many reasons including your own well-being and the feeling of fulfillment of being a significant part of your childrens development.

Here are a few tips:

1. Prioritise your free time:

Block off a day or half day at the weekend and stick to it.

2. Diarise it:

Plan something that you know you and the family will enjoy. Even if its watching X-Factor together. The value is being in each others company and making it worthwhile.

3. Think of how to engage them:

Its been proven that even the most laborious of subjects can enthuse a child if portrayed in an engaging way.

Be inventive, explore your local area, go to a race evening (these are often geared towards families with a concert and loads of childrens activities), learn to trampoline. Whatever is going to be a fun family event- the Internet is full of activities (free and not so free!) to entertain children of all ages.

4. Tell the family about it beforehand:

This commits you and them.

5. Take away ALL distractions:

For that time, turn your phone off (or put on the voicemail), lock away your Blackberry and do not turn on your computer unless it is to play a game with the children or help them with their homework!

6. When you have enjoyed your time together commit to the next one.

Marc Lockley is a personal coach with twenty years successful experience in National Press Media Sales, 10 of which as a leader. He is also a happy husband and father and knows the importance of balancing a pressurised workload with family and social life. Now he is a fully qualified coach based in the UK. For more details log on to his website http://www.lockleyassociates.co.uk