If you work full-time, you already know how much time and effort it takes to master work-life balance. Add to that a relationship, and it becomes even harder.

As a psychologist who studies couples — and who has a working wife — I’ve faced these challenges firsthand. Thankfully, my job as both a researcher and husband has taught me how important it is to be intentional about how my wife and I spend our time, specifically on weekends.

Here’s how people in the happiest, most successful relationships spend their free time:

A couple who spends a lot of time together, but is constantly distracted by texts, emails or social media, probably isn’t as happy as a couple who spends less time together, but without their phones.

That’s why carving out one-on-one time without any interference from technology is so important. And how you spend that time is actually irrelevant. It doesn’t need to be extravagant or planned down to the minute. What matters is presence.

It could be a quiet morning coffee where you exchange unfiltered thoughts, a slow walk to fill the silence, or a good old wining-and-dining — as long as the phones and laptops are put away.

After a draining week of work, it’s normal and even healthy to crave solitude. But it can be hard to choose between “me time” and “we time.”

Luckily, there’s a way to satiate the need for both alone time and bonding simultaneously. “Parallel play,” a concept derived from child psychology, is when two people engage in their preferred activity separately, but alongside each other.

For couples, this might look like one partner reading on the couch, while the other plays their favorite video game next to them. They might not be engaging directly with one another, but they’re still intentionally sharing space and de-stressing with an activity they each enjoy.

It’s basically a way of saying: “I love you, but I also need to love me for an hour or two. Let’s do it together.” 

Relationships thrive on ritual. Coming home to your partner and knowing that the weekend will bring something familiar — something reliably yours — can be comforting.

In fact, research shows that rituals can help couples organize their lives in a way that allows for both change and stability to coexist. Individuals can merge into a shared identity that feels distinct from either person alone. You can ground yourselves together, no matter what chaos surrounds you.

What those rituals look like is completely up to you. Don’t shy away from cheesy. It could be Sunday morning pancakes, or board game night with a goofy scoreboard on the fridge. If you’re more practical, maybe it’s a weekly sit-down over a glass of wine to plan out the week, or tackling one nagging chore together with your shared playlist in the background. 

Studies show that couples who have a satisfying sex life are more likely to be happier in their relationships.

But with endless chores and errands, weekends can start to feel like a second workweek — with little time left over for intimacy. Sex quickly starts to feel like less of a priority.

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That’s why structured intimacy can be a good thing. Many people think it can diminish spontaneity, but if anything, it actually removes the mental fatigue of trying to make intimacy happen.

It’s also a great way for couples to engage without distraction, all while combating the emotional strain of work. So, make it intentional and set a time.

Playfulness, according to research, is one of the most reliable tools couples can use to strengthen their relationship. It can boost relationship satisfaction, ease conflict and break up the sense of monotony that partners can start to resent. 

During the week, we unknowingly train ourselves to look for things to stress over. But on weekends, we need to take those goggles off. The act of being silly — and being met with silliness in return — helps us reconnect with the childlike wonder we carry inside that gets buried beneath our responsibilities. 

So, look for joy on purpose. Maybe you pull out a trivia game with nonsense rules or challenge each other to a dance battle.

There’s no right or wrong way to be playful, and chances are, you already know how to make your partner laugh. You just have to remember to do it.

Mark Travers, PhD, is a psychologist who specializes in relationships. He holds degrees from Cornell University and the University of Colorado Boulder. He is the lead psychologist at Awake Therapy, a telehealth company that provides online psychotherapy, counseling and coaching. He is also the curator of the popular mental health and wellness website, Therapytips.org.

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As a pediatrician, I spend a lot of time engaging with families about nutrition. My philosophy is simple: If you empower a child to embrace healthy eating habits early on, they are more likely to carry these positive behaviors into adulthood. 

Early intervention can be transformative and help substantially reduce their long-term risk of developing chronic conditions such as diabetes, heart disease and even certain types of cancer.

Many parents already know the importance of feeding kids vegetables and limiting added sugar. We often discuss “eating the rainbow,” emphasizing the need for a diverse range of colorful fruits and vegetables. Parents frequently prioritize dark leafy greens, antioxidant-rich blueberries and healthy-fat-packed avocados. 

However, there’s one nutritional powerhouse that often gets overlooked: beans. Here’s why I wish more parents fed this underrated superfood to their kids. 

Beans, in all their varied forms, are an exceptional source of plant-based protein. Many bean varieties contain all the essential amino acids that are vital for supporting a child’s energy, growth and active lifestyle. 

Beans are also loaded with both soluble and insoluble fiber, a duo that’s a game-changer for digestive health. Insoluble fiber promotes regular bowel movements, preventing constipation and keeping things moving smoothly. Soluble fiber contributes to that feeling of fullness and satiety after a meal, which can be helpful in managing appetite and preventing overeating. 

Soluble fiber also plays a role in lowering LDL, or “bad” cholesterol levels, and helps to stabilize blood sugar fluctuations after meals, preventing those dreaded energy crashes.

Beans are naturally fortified with an impressive array of essential vitamins and minerals. 

They are also a fantastic source of folate, which is vital for cell growth and development, as well as iron, which is crucial for carrying oxygen throughout the body. 

Plus, they’re packed with magnesium for nerve and muscle function, and a range of B vitamins that support energy production and brain health.

Soybeans in particular have a good amount of healthy fats in them, like omega 3 and omega 6 fats that support heart and brain health. 

Beyond their nutritional profile, beans offer practical advantages. They are very affordable, making them accessible to families on any budget. Their long shelf life means you can stock up and always have a healthy meal option on hand. 

Additionally, incorporating beans into our diets is an environmentally-friendly choice. They have a lower carbon footprint compared to many animal protein sources, contributing to a more sustainable food system.

Of course, all the nutritional knowledge in the world won’t make a difference if kids refuse to eat what’s offered. This is where the magic of beans truly shines. 

I’ve found that many children genuinely enjoy the taste and texture of beans, and they are remarkably easy to prepare in various kid-friendly ways.

For younger children or more picky eaters, start with something simple and approachable, like steaming edamame (young soybeans) or adding black beans to a cheesy quesadilla. I’ve even found success with black bean-based brownies, a surprisingly delicious and nutritious treat. 

For more adventurous eaters, consider introducing lentil soups, flavorful bean chili or stews. The versatility of beans makes them easy to incorporate into a wide range of dishes, ensuring there’s a bean recipe out there for everyone.

Dr. Kelly Fradin is the Chair of Pediatrics at the Atria Health and Research Institute and the mother of two children. She is the author of ”Advanced Parenting: Advice for Helping Kids through Diagnoses, Differences and Mental Health Challenges.” To learn more, you can find Dr. Fradin on Instagram @adviceigivemyfriends.

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There are endless ways to approach parenting. Many parents choose “authoritative parenting,” a widely respected style that balances firm boundaries with nurture and support. Others lean into “authoritarian parenting,” a stricter model that emphasizes rules and consequences.

More recently, I’ve seen lots of “gentle parenting,” which prioritizes empathy and emotional validation.

But what if raising successful kids isn’t about being strict or soft? What if the answer is to create a safe place? After years of studying over 200 parent-child relationships, and from practicing healthy habits with my own child, I’ve seen firsthand what helps kids thrive … and what quietly shuts them down.

That’s why I’ve developed a new parenting framework — one that I believe works better than the rest — rooted in what kids need most but rarely receive: emotional safety.

With emotionally safe parenting, the goal is to be deeply attuned to your child’s emotional needs. I teach parents not just how to manage their children’s behaviors, but also to help them build emotional resilience, trust and connection through open and honest conversations.

Like authoritative parenting, emotionally safe parenting sets clear boundaries and encourages independence. What’s different is that it encourages parents to focus on emotional attunement, self-awareness and inner healing.

Some common traits of emotionally safe parents:

• They accept their child’s emotions without rushing to fix or dismiss them.
• They respond without shaming their child — avoiding phrases that belittle, guilt or embarrass — even if those were the responses they grew up with.
• They view “bad” behavior (i.e., screaming, yelling back, hitting another sibling) as stress signals, not defiance.
• They take responsibility after conflicts by apologizing and reconnecting, rather than punishing or withdrawing.
• They do the internal work — through journaling, therapy, or mindfulness — not to stay calm in the moment, but to become less reactive in the first place.
• They create an environment where their child feels safe expressing big emotions, asking questions and showing up as their full, authentic self.
• They embrace the whole child, showing consistent acceptance of both easy and difficult traits, not just the “well-behaved” version.
• They lead with calm, steady authority — holding boundaries without fear, while welcoming even the biggest emotions with compassion and clarity.

Emotional safety is the missing piece in so many homes — not because parents don’t care, but because most were never taught how to create a steady, safe place during emotional storms.

Here’s how to practice emotionally safe parenting:

1. Do the inner work first

Emotionally safe parenting begins with the adult, not the child. Get into the habit of reflecting on how your own childhood and emotional triggers shape their reactions today.

• When you’re in the heat of the moment, bring awareness to what you’re feeling — not to control it, but to understand it.
• Before correcting your child, ask yourself: “What part of me feels threatened right now?”
• If you notice yourself repeating something your parents said, consider: “Is this how I want to show up for my child?”

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2. See behavior as a signal, not a threat

Instead of viewing misbehavior as disrespect, emotionally safe parents see it as communication — a request for support, not punishment.

• If a child slams a door, see it as “they might feel overwhelmed,” rather than “they’re being rude.”
• Ask, “What is their behavior trying to tell me?” instead of, “How do I stop this?”
• Respond with curiosity instead of jumping to consequences, asking things like, “Can you help me understand what happened?” or, “What were you feeling when that happened?”

3. Set boundaries with empathy, not control

Limits are necessary, but you don’t need to set them with fear or shame. Emotionally safe parents hold firm boundaries while staying emotionally connected.

They might say things like:

• To stay consistent while still offering empathy: “I understand you’re upset, but the answer is still no.”
• To offer support, not just corrections: “This is hard. I’m here to help you figure it out.”
• To validate feelings without changing the limit: “You’re frustrated this isn’t going your way.”

 4. Prevent shame from taking place

Emotionally safe parenting isn’t about being perfect — it’s about modeling what healthy repair looks like. Instead of blaming or withdrawing, reconnect after hard moments and show your child that conflict doesn’t have to lead to shame or disconnection.

This could look like:

• Owning your part and not blaming your child for their reaction: “I shouldn’t have yelled. That wasn’t okay, and I’m sorry.”
• Validating feelings even during correction: “It’s okay to feel angry, but we need to find a safer way to show it than hitting.”
• Restoring connection before problem-solving: “Let’s take a few deep breaths together, then we can talk about what happened.”

The way you speak to your child becomes how they speak to themselves. Emotionally safe parents are mindful that their tone, words and reactions shape how their child sees themselves, especially in hard moments.

I always try to use a calm, respectful tone with my child, even when setting limits. And I let him know that his feelings are valid: “It’s okay to be upset,” or, “I’d feel that way, too.” Most importantly, I want him to know that I’ll always be there for him: “Even when things get hard, I’m still here.”

Remember, you want to give your child something deeper than discipline: the sense that they are safe, supported and unconditionally loved. I always tell parents that the child who feels emotionally safe grows up to be the adult who can regulate their emotions, build healthy relationships, trust themselves and live with confidence.

Reem Raouda is a leading voice in conscious parenting and the creator of FOUNDATIONS — the transformative healing journal for parents ready to break cycles, do the inner work, and become the emotionally safe parent their child needs. She is widely recognized for her groundbreaking work in children’s emotional safety and strengthening the parent-child bond. Follow her on Instagram.

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This story is part of CNBC Make It’s Six-Figure Side Hustle series, where people with lucrative side hustles break down the routines and habits they’ve used to make money on top of their full-time jobs. Got a story to tell? Let us know! Email us at AskMakeIt@cnbc.com.

In 2018, Josh White went to Home Depot on a mission.

He was teaching his 12-year-old daughter how to replace splintering wooden panels on their deck in Passaic, New Jersey, and wanted a smaller hammer to fit her hands. Aisle after aisle, he couldn’t find any functional, kid-friendly tools, he says.

White, who owns a Boca Raton, Florida-based creative agency called OffWhite Co., decided to sketch and 3D-print his own models. He designed a bird-shaped tape measure — with marked ribbon for a tongue and a droopy googly eye as a level — got prototypes from a factory in China, and listed the product on Amazon under the name Handy Famm in December 2019.

As customer interest grew, White and his Handy Famm team — now four full-time workers, some of whom came over from OffWhite — designed more tot-centric tools, like giraffe hammers and hippo wrenches, he says. Handy Famm brought in $455,000 in sales last year, according to documents reviewed by CNBC Make It.

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Handy Famm, which sells online and in hardware stores — including Home Depot — is on track to reach profitability this year, White projects. It’s grown enough that it may no longer qualify as a side hustle: White spends at least 40 hours per week growing and marketing it, he says.

He started taking a salary from the company earlier this year, though his OffWhite salary still makes up a majority of his income, he says.

Notably, White had an advantage in getting Handy Famm off the ground: After designing for companies like Chobani, Cabbage Patch Kids and AeroPress, he already owned equipment to help him model his ideas. He had relationships with manufacturers in China, and more than two decades of experience using art and products to tell stories, he says.

Still, anyone can create a successful side hustle with the right “motivation,” he says.

Here, White discusses the shortcuts he took to build Handy Famm quickly, cost-cutting strategies and how to learn from your mistakes.

CNBC Make It: Do you think your side hustle is replicable?

White: Yes, but the way I’m doing it, not so much.

There aren’t a lot of people who have the experiences that I’ve gone through in life. Before Handy Famm, I traveled the world and worked with manufacturers on how to make stuff for people, anything from headphones to a Barbie doll. I have the network, I have the connections and I know my way around these areas.

You can go on Alibaba and find a manufacturer there and just hope for the best. But most people have to spend two years in development and negotiation and thousands of dollars prototyping their products with factories in China. I was able to build Handy Famm so fast because I skipped all the steps and went to the sources.

But in terms of identifying [a gap or need] in the market, then figuring out how to make something, I think anyone can do anything — if you have the motivation to do it.

Are there shortcuts new entrepreneurs can use, even without the type of prior experience you had?

I learned early on that you can’t rely on the factory to help you do the creative. You want to keep that part as close to your chest as possible.

The more vision you have, the more research you do upfront, the more time it’ll save you going back and forth. If you just hand over a sketch of an idea, you’re going to get disappointed very fast.

One of my first projects at OffWhite, I designed this airplane-shaped object holder [that] people could put their knickknacks in. I sent my design to a factory, and it came back as a gray pancake.

So, I went ahead and started to build my own model out of clay. You can hire people to help you with the design part too, as long as you have a clear vision — a North Star of what you’re trying to accomplish.

Doing your creative homework upfront seems to contradict some popular Silicon Valley advice, like “launch a minimum viable product” or “move fast and break things.” What’s the merit of slowing down?

The timeframe of “just do it” is fungible [project to project]. Be as smart and educated as you can upfront, but at some point, you have to take the risk. If you want to get something to market, you can’t wait until something’s perfect either, because then you’ll never do anything.

Everything has a different learning curve. When we first launched our first tape measure, parents told us their kids were getting too excited and ripping out the ribbon out of the bird head, so we had to go back in and figure out a way to make it stronger. Before we launched the hammer, the [prototype’s] head was too heavy to be kid-friendly and functional. Even with all my experience, I had to gut it and put it back together.

I think the key point here is: Don’t get frustrated. There are always going to be micro-failures, things that go wrong no matter how much research you do. I call [mistakes] my Harvard education because, often, you have to pay your way in time and expenses [to succeed].

But I’ve learned for the next time, and I get smarter.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

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When Kate Sullivan started making jewelry in her bedroom at age 19, she couldn’t have imagined that her designs would one day be spotted on stars like Gigi Hadid and SZA.

Today, Sullivan’s online jewelry company, The Sage Vintage, brings in six figures a year, topping $570,000 in total sales in 2024.

Sullivan, now 26, started The Sage Vintage as a side hustle after she took a break from college in 2017. She left the University of Colorado Boulder, where she was pursuing a degree in neuroscience, and moved back in with her father in a suburb of Chicago.

To make some money while she figured out her next steps, Sullivan started buying vintage clothing from local thrift stores and selling it on Depop, a popular online resale marketplace.

Sullivan’s clothing business was profitable, but when the Covid-19 pandemic started, the clothing resale market quickly became more competitive, and Sullivan’s sales began to fall.

She knew it was time to pivot. “I wanted to do something different, to stand out and to make sure my business was successful long term,” she says.

Inspiration struck when she found an old jewelry making kit from her childhood, and Sullivan began to create handmade jewelry in 2020.

“I thrifted some necklaces, took them apart and started making charm jewelry. And that’s how it all started,” she says.

With the help of her father, Sullivan scoured local flea markets, antique malls and thrift stores for vintage charms and chains. She sold her first batch of charm necklaces on Depop at between $60 and $100 each.

“I didn’t really see a lot of people doing charm jewelry at that point. I felt like it was almost outdated, and I liked the individuality that it brought to each piece,” she says.

As her business grew, Sullivan created her own website in January 2020, which she named “The Sage Vintage” in honor of her dog, Sage, to sell her clothing and jewelry.

“I think starting our website really made it feel real to me because I wasn’t just selling on a platform anymore. It was my own thing,” she says. 

Sullivan had initially planned to return to college, but she decided to drop out and focus on growing The Sage Vintage instead.

“Once I started being my own boss, I realized that I didn’t want to have a conventional job,” she says.

Still, she was running the business full time out of her bedroom, often working on her jewelry until 1 or 2 a.m. She also handled packaging and shipping, though she hired a contract employee in August 2020 to handle emails and customer service.

By the end of 2020, Sullivan’s clothing and jewelry sales generated just over $70,000 in sales. She took a salary of $12,000 after paying overhead costs.

“It felt like I was pretty much just getting by,” she recalls. “I was hoping to make a lot more the next year.”

Sales for The Sage Vintage remained flat at around $70,000 in 2021, but business took off in 2022 after a viral collaboration with Haricot Vert, a NYC-based handmade jewelry brand.

In July 2022, Haricot Vert and Sullivan launched a joint collection of 30 one-of-a-kind pieces priced between $100 and $350.

The collection sold out in under five minutes.

“That was insane to me,” Sullivan says. “I’ve never made that amount of money in that little of time.”

Her subsequent collaborations with Haricot Vert continued to quickly sell out and go viral.

“Once I started seeing my own pictures all over Pinterest, I knew that it was going to be something big,” Sullivan says. “I’ll still be scrolling through Pinterest or Instagram, and I’ll see people reposting my pictures from 2 or 3 years ago, and I still cannot tell that it’s me at first.”

Sullivan can also count major celebrities among her customers.

Singer SZA wore an abalone butterfly necklace from The Sage Vintage onstage while performing at a music festival in 2022, and model Gigi Hadid was spotted in 2023 wearing a necklace from one of The Sage Vintage and Haricot Vert’s collaborations.

Hadid’s stylist reached out to Sullivan, who sent her three custom pieces.

“That was a crazy moment for me,” Sullivan says.

Due to increased demand for her handmade pieces, Sullivan found herself working 14 to 16 hours a day.

“One of the biggest struggles is when you’re growing at such a fast pace,” she says. “After our collaborations, I was having a really hard time working by myself.”

She decided to change her strategy: “In order to scale my business, I really needed to start making multiples of each piece, and not just one of ones.”

Sullivan began to purchase bulk batches of charms and worked with manufacturers to create gold-plated replicas of vintage charms. She started selling single charms and chains, as well as offering choose-your-own-charm custom options.

A single charm can cost as little as $12 to $14, while a custom charm necklace typically costs over $350, Sullivan says. The most expensive piece of jewelry on her site is a 14k charm necklace priced at $1,148.

She also expanded into wholesale: in April 2023, a buyer from Anthropologie reached out to Sullivan and purchased 8 handmade, one-of-one necklaces for $1,500. Jewelry from The Sage Vintage is now available in several boutiques and small businesses across the country.

Today, Sullivan employs three part-time contractors to help with the logistics of running The Sage Vintage, though she still makes the jewelry herself.

“I have a lot more flexibility now that I have employees,” Sullivan says. “I do try to have a proper weekend now, and I really do try to stick to a 9 to 5. But again, if I do want to take a day off, I’m welcome to do that, thankfully.”

In 2022, Sullivan moved from Chicago to Idaho, bought a house, and began operating The Sage Vintage from a small outbuilding on her new property.

Last September, Sullivan took out a $67,000 loan from e-commerce platform Shopify, which she uses to power her website, to renovate the outbuilding into a full-scale jewelry workshop, as well as to redesign her website and increase stock ahead of the holiday season. Since then, she’s paid off over 50% of the loan.

After years of paying herself through distributions from the business, she plans to pay herself a “proper salary” of $100,000 in 2025.

In the future, Sullivan hopes to expand The Sage Vintage and open up a storefront in Chicago. Later this year, she plans to launch her own line of apparel in addition to jewelry, “coming full-circle” from her early days on Depop.

“I definitely am so grateful that I did drop out and didn’t continue on the track that I was on,” Sullivan says.

Want a new career that’s higher-paying, more flexible or fulfilling? Take CNBC’s new online course How to Change Careers and Be Happier at Work. Expert instructors will teach you strategies to network successfully, revamp your resume and confidently transition into your dream career. Start today and use coupon code EARLYBIRD for an introductory discount of 30% off $67 (+taxes and fees) through May 13, 2025.

Plus, sign up for CNBC Make It’s newsletter to get tips and tricks for success at work, with money and in life, and request to join our exclusive community on LinkedIn to connect with experts and peers.