Do not multitask beyond a point

Managing work and giving quality time to children is a dilemma faced by every working parent. To strike a balance between the two worlds, working couples are resorting to multitasking. But
excessive multitasking might become stressful. Speak Up explores

Though fathers today are more supportive, women have to do most of the work
In today’s environment, irrespective of what work you do, every working parent has to multitask. Most of us now live in nuclear families and in such an environment, it becomes all the more
necessary for us to multitask. In our society, working moms are better at multitasking; they not only look after the family and the house, but also pursue their careers. They have to find a balance between official work and familial duties. Even though
fathers today are a lot more supportive in sharing household chores, working moms are left with major portion of the work.
If you plan properly, multitasking can lead to a huge growth. Multitasking does require new skill sets, and you tend to develop those skills to meet the demands. In my opinion, multitasking is not only about doing more than one work at a time, but also how to prioritise your work and complete a task in the least possible time.   
—Anu Wakhlu, author, Time and Life Management

A practical sense of time management and strong willpower keeps me going
In today’s fast-paced life, we have to make choices every minute. We can choose to make the most of life by embracing the changes and learning better ways to get things done. Or we can choose to do only a couple of things and do them well.
I tend to choose the first way and that has made me adept at a skill called “multitasking”. Since I like to experiment, I am always trying out new things at work and home. I like to get a lot of things done in a day; so, I find myself dabbling in a lot of activities throughout the day. Since my husband travels a lot, I find myself playing the roles of both parents, a professional and a homemaker all week. I enjoy every one of these roles, and everything I do is an event for me. I also like to ensure that the quality of what I do keeps improving. It means I need to work hard at everything I do. If something is not up to the mark, I tend to start all over again, which makes it hard for me sometimes. But I do believe that a practical sense of time management and a strong willpower makes it possible for me. My mantra in life is ‘Work hard, play harder’, and it keeps me going.
—Maitreyee Mitra-Syal, HR professional

Try to take up small chores one by one, so that you
don’t get stressed out
With the advent of the Internet, cellphone and SMS, there is no escape from multitasking for working parents. I have a 12-year-old son, and my wife and I are both working. My wife and I see to it that together we manage to devote adequate time to our son and our home. When it comes to multitasking, my wife does a much better job than I do. I am not good at cooking, so I cannot help my wife in the kitchen, but I do drop my son to school and help her with other chores. Since I have to work a lot in digital media; multitasking never really stresses me out, as there is so much variety in my work. My work is not monotonous and the timings are very flexible. I don’t think I have ever been stressed out due to multitasking, as I enjoy my work. Try to take up small chores one by one, so that you don’t get stressed out.
 —Milind Sathe, art curator & promoter

I manage work in a way so that I am free after 8 pm
I am of the opinion that irrespective of the nature of your work, giving time to your family and household should not be stressful. My wife and I are a working couple, and we have two daughters and a son. I manage my work in such a way that I do not have any work after 8 pm on weekdays and I devote Sundays to my family. Generally my wife does all the household chores and also manages her office work. I do share household work like paying utility bills and shopping for vegetables or groceries. With big shopping malls, it is possible for the whole family to enjoy outing and shopping at the same time. Taking calls and sending e-mails are things that you have to mix with your personal life. How you deal with multitasking without being stressed depends on how you strike a balance.  
—Manish Khadilkar, GM, Phadnis Group

In between work, I take out time to spend with my family
Multitasking has become a part of your life; you have to do it to get the work done in time. With so many communication tools, you are available 24x7. Despite all this, it all depends on where you draw the line. Though I try not to mix my professional and personal lives and try to keep a balance, there are situations where you have to choose one of them. It is true that Internet and cellphones have made it much easier to handle urgent situations, but it becomes a bit stressful at times. In between my official work, I do take out some time to cook and spend quality time with my family. Since my wife is a vegetarian, she does not cook non-vegetarian dishes. So, whenever other members of my family feel like eating non-vegetarian food, I do the cooking for them.   
—Kishor Daryanani, GM (IT), Alfa Laval