Office for Promotion of Equality and DiversityWaseda University

Series: Tackling Work-Life Balance (28)

Small Changes Produce Big Results!

Kyuya Nishizawa
Full-time Staff
Faculty of Commerce

I am a father of two boys, aged 5 and 3 years. Sure, they can be a handful, but I am enjoying every day of watching them grow.

When my second son was born in 2020, I availed myself of the childcare leave. My eldest boy was still young, and considering the efforts of my wife after our first son’s birth and during her second pregnancy, I was determined to avail myself of the childcare leave. Although the leave was only for a month and a half, it overlapped the months of March and April—the busiest time of the year for a university employee [note: in Japan, the academic session begins in April]. Nevertheless, no one at my workplace cast aspersions at me, or uttered a negative remark regarding my leave, for which I remain grateful.

▲After being super excited riding the express train, my two boys are now fast asleep.

During my leave, my top priority was to take care of my elder son. I thought he might feel neglected, with everyone paying attention to the newborn. We went to the park when the weather was nice. I enjoyed watching him play, as he ignored the cherry blossom above to concentrate on the sticks and branches on the ground. On rainy days, we watched films on DVDs appropriate for his age. I had always performed all kinds of housework, but now, I also started cooking. Learning how to cook was challenging at first. However, I taught myself by watching videos on a cooking application. I continue to share the cooking duties with my wife.

Just as I was getting used to my daily life on childcare leave, the COVID-19 pandemic struck. When the government announced a state of emergency, I “returned” to work on my desktop computer—something I had not imagined. I will omit discussing our challenges with raising children during the pandemic, as many people have already talked about that in this column. However, I do intend to state that this proved to be a valuable experience for our family, as we faced the challenges together.

▲A relaxing moment in our family travels.

As we were looking after our kids, many things changed—these were both good and bad changes, but I will focus on the good ones.

Regarding my professional work, earlier I would leave my home an hour before work started. I would eat breakfast bought from a convenience store, check my inbox and my daily schedule, and so on. This was my morning routine. When I began taking my boy to daycare, I had to change my routine. Initially, I thought that changing my routine would impact my work. Nevertheless, I firmly resolved to schedule things for longer terms, and work more efficiently. I was able to implement these changes with some trial-and-error along the way. My lunch hour changed as well. Earlier, I would spend significant time on my smartphone, or, if I had a heavy workload, I would finish lunch early and return to my desk. Now, I spend the time planning for the evening meal, or thinking about family outings, or performing activities for which I lack time at home, such as reading. Thus, I use my time more efficiently and feel refreshed during the lunch hour.

I follow a healthier lifestyle now. I eat at home, after which I take a bath with my boys and put them to bed. Earlier, I would just eat dinner at home with a drink, and fall asleep until morning. Now, my alcohol intake has also reduced. Now I have better results after my health checkups, and I feel I am in a pretty good physical shape. I feel a sense of satisfaction from the creativity employed in cooking, and nothing makes me happier than hearing from my family: “It is delicious!”

Running is my hobby. Previously, I would run home, or train hard for events to improve my time. Now, I run a lot less hard, and exert myself a lot less. Instead, I run at a natural pace, and enjoy using the time to think about various things, and put them in mental order. It has become a valuable time for me.

▲Standing in front of a steam locomotive. Time and again, the boys fight and make up. They are a lively brotherly team!

As my children have grown, I have been making these minor changes in my daily life. However, the small changes accumulate and make a big difference, especially as I come closer to achieving my goal of a healthy work–life balance. Here, let me express my deep gratitude to my wife, who plays the main role in raising our children. I am grateful for the support provided by our families and relatives, and strive to always remember these blessing as our family walks together into the future.