The number one rule of it all is that you have to enjoy all that you’re doing. So now that I’ve mentioned the obvious lets begin.

Nothing means more to me than my wife and daughter. They are my motivation to make money and hustle hard.

I talked to some people who said they have no time for relationships because they are too busy with their careers. But I see no validity in that whatsoever.

A half-religious friend of mine once told me that, by the bible, the worst pain we can ever experience is loneliness. I am not religious whatsoever, but I tend to agree.
To find love is to find happiness, and to be loved and spend time with your loved ones is worth the whole world.

Well, yeah, there’s a clash. Our modern western society has very sad statistics of high divorce rates, but on the other hand, we have to make money for our families and support ourselves and our loved ones.

Finding the balance between family & work is a key challenge in life that we all face.

We have to work hard on that challenge and know where to draw the lines…

I also care a lot for being there for her when she’s sick. When your kids are sick they need you the most. I many times take her to the doctor myself,  sometimes with my wife.

If I get stressed about not being in the office or not answering email when she is sick I make myself think “The world can burn for all I care! My job, my friends, everyone around me  – can burn when I’m on my daughter’s side.”
I know, that is an egoistic thought, but at those times it lets me focus on the importance of being there for her and gaining perspective about work-life situations.

I really believe that we shape our kids, and in order to shape them we need to be there with them as much as we can. In the future, when she’ll attend school and have recreational events that she invites me to attend – I will attend them no matter what!

Its important to get your partner onboard with your work. After all, if you’re running a career (especially if you do some side projects along with it) its likely that you do it for your own mutual benefit, whether its for education or economic growth of your family. Either way its for eventually bringing more money to the family household and to build not only your future but theirs as well.

So, for instance, in October 2013 I let in my wife on the decision to co-found HackingUI and told her: “I want to run this project, its for our own good, and I will need time to invest in it on a weekly basis off-work.”
Telling her I need time off-work was not enough, I came prepared with a suggestion of how much time I need:
“I need 6 hours every weekend, and I prefer to get them out of the way all at once so later I can spend the rest of my weekend with you and Lia (our daughter).”
That was actually totally acceptable with my wife, since she expects me to spend quality time with her and our daughter most of the weekend without having that itch to get work done.

Its also healthy for me as well, since I can let myself to enjoy the time with my family for the rest of my weekend without that feeling of “oh shit I have so much work to get done”.

I don’t feel that urge to check my mails or run to the computer every second.

Set expectations at your workplace

This has to happen usually before you get accepted and start working. Its extremely important to have this in place early.
First, ask about the early day policy in your company. If you can leave one day early to be with your kids, that’s extremely important. Even if your boss does not allow it at the beginning, if you make it known that it’s something you want you can work towards it.

If you have side projects, be sure to let your future boss know about that as well. I personally believe that side projects advance you as as professional, and develop skills that you will never gain in your every day work. Back when I talked to my boss and told him about HackingUI and PixelPerfect, he totally supported the fact that I’m active in the global design industry.

It’s obvious, but I try to always let my wife know if I’m running late from work, even if I’m super uncomfortable about it.
If you make a decision to run late because you have to finish something at work, be complete with that decision that you took, and let you loved ones know instead of just arriving late.
I am bad at time estimations, but I’m getting better and working hard on being better at it.
But yeah, I was really bad…  My wife remembers to this day some times 2 years ago where I’d leave work at 6pm and then ended up leaving at 7pm. That being said, I have made enormous efforts to better my time estimation. I used to do that a lot more, say that I plan to leave at one hour, and end up leaving 30 minutes to an hour after I said I’ll head back. The key is communication, and integrity towards your partner, and I many times failed at that. My wife .