Parenthood is difficult as it is, but careers that frequently take you on the road or away from home can make a complex job even more challenging, both for you and your family at home. As a pilot, it can feel like an insurmountable task to focus on both your family and your work responsibilities at the same time and give equal attention and care to both of these important roles.

Fortunately, it’s not impossible to rock your role as a parent while maintaining a career as a pilot. With careful planning and mindful moves, you can balance the demands of your job and family life to make the most of each position wherever you are in the world.

Be Proactive

If you know you’ll be away for several days, it’s better to get ahead of the time apart with some proactivity rather than try to make up for your absence at home when you get back.

From scheduling special one-on-one dates with each of your children to making sure they have a way to make it to all dentist and sensory processing disorder test appointments, making a family calendar can help you to stay organized and involved with everything that goes on at home so you can keep one foot in each world at the same time, even if just in spirit.

Keep In Touch

While you may not be able to make lengthy phone or video calls to your children while you’re up in the air, it’s important that you use the time you do have while you’re away to reach out and stay connected to your children in whatever ways possible.

Go out of your way to set up times to play games over the internet, video chat to ask about how school is going or send personalized photographs or postcards from each destination you visit through your work.

Support Your Teammate

Whether your spouse or partner is holding down the fort while you’re away or your children are staying with a friend or family member, it’s important to make sure whoever is caring for your children has whatever they need to be most successful when you’re not there to lend a helping hand.

However you choose to help to meet the needs of your children and their caregiver, from ordering meals ahead of time to hiring sitters to give him or her a much-needed break, anything you do to help your family as a whole benefits your children two-fold.

Maximize Time at Home

Though it may feel as if you’ve lost valuable time with your children, studies have revealed that kids benefit more from quality time rather than just a large quantity of time with their parents. When you finally make it home after a long trip away, make sure to spend valuable time with each of your children to show that you missed them and want to remain connected, both while you’re at work and when you’re at home.

Learn Their Love Languages

Does your youngest ask for a big hug when you first walk in the door? Is your oldest interested in souvenirs and trinkets from faraway places? Take some time to learn the ways that each of your children gives and receives love and find ways to speak to them in their unique love languages.

When you communicate with your children in a way that makes them feel really seen and appreciated, it will make the distance easier for all of you to manage.

Prioritize Balance

A pilot’s career can be demanding, but so is fatherhood. Whenever you can, try to make small changes that allow you to maintain a more even balance between the responsibilities of your work and home life. Staying connected to the values that drove you into both roles will lead to a more fulfilling, enriched life where you can be the best you can be no matter what.