Balance for life is a difficult objective to capture and maintain. In this day and time, we are constantly juggling many tasks: work, relationships, children, family, hobbies, households, outside commitments. First, know balance can be obtained. Accept, though, that it will occasionally teeter one way or the other. Second, obtaining balance is not always easy. Especially when you have more than yourself to consider: kids, significant others, etc. Third, what is balance for you may not be balance for someone else. Fourth, your idea of balance is where you start. We must balance our work with play and our social tendencies with time to ourselves. For example, my husband is very social. I am not. Thus, I create time for myself first, then add in time with him and social activities. Sometimes my husband socializes without me due to my need for time alone.
Where do we start to gain balance for life? Decide how much time you need for yourself, how much time do you need with your significant other, how much time do you need to spend with the kids, and your family, oh and don’t forget your friends. Then get a schedule, planner, calendar, and schedule those times in. Then schedule in everything else. Work already has its time on the schedule, unless you work from home. With that situation, you will need to schedule that time accordingly as well. Now hold to your schedule almost like it’s concrete. Sure, emergencies happen and you will have to adjust. Like I said, sometimes it teeters. Other activities pop up unexpectedly. Thus, it teeters again. Then comes the holiday season. This is when I really encourage that we manage our schedules because the social expectations really pull at that time. Balance through the holiday season is something I personally and professionally tackle as a project all on its own, and I will surely post articles about that special balancing act when the holiday season approaches. For now look to your schedule and begin to embrace creating balance for your life!
