It is really hard to not be busy when we’re doing our job right, but that should not be an excuse to keep losing precious family time. And if you’re feeling that you don’t have enough time to share it with your family due to your job then you should be aware that you’re not the only one that feels that way, as according to a study done by Working Families, only one out of three parents leave work on time.

So instead of just overworking yourself thinking about your family put some effort into spending quality moments with them. You should try to give your family the importance they deserve, so whenever you have a speck of free time at work think about the things you can do with your dears ones, make some plans for fun dates and then ask them via cellphone or any social media if they’d like to go once you’re free to go.

Here are some other things you can do:

If you want to remind them that you love them while at work, then make use of social media networks to interact with them at work. In this day and age almost everyone is making use of social media websites, a survey done by the CBBC Newsround found that among 13- to 18-year-olds, 96% were signed up to social media networks. If members of your family such as your kids are constantly making use of these then you could use your smartphone to talk to them whenever you miss them, to send them interesting pictures of your job and even selfies!

Conversely, spend less time using your smartphone whenever you are with them. Some people may think that spending quality time with your family is just being near them, but the truth is that that isn’t enough. Using our smartphone while we’re with our family makes us lose some of the focus we could be dedicating to them, stop checking your emails constantly while your son is trying to get your attention and instead play with him.

Ask your family where they would want to go on your day off from work. Planning ahead is something crucial if you want to have dates with your family, so whenever you have the chance to plan together a fun date, ask them what they would want to do and where they would want to go. This way when you actually have the time to go out with your family you won’t have to spend much deciding what to do.

Listen to them. Listening is one of the best things a person could do when interacting with others, it doesn’t cost anything but matters a lot. Engaging in conversations with family members will make you aware of the things they like and dislike, their opinions on some subjects and will give you knowledge of their own personalities. Paying attentions to the things they say will make you understand them better, do it often.

When you’re giving everything at work so your family can have a better life you’re doing an admirable act of selflessness, but you shouldn’t let your job suck out your entire life, after all if you’re working hard to keep your family happy then you better share that happiness with them.