Do you feel burdened with too many responsibilities and not enough time for yourself? If so, you’re not alone. According to an Aon Consulting survey, 88% of employees say they have a hard time juggling work and life. Many of us have bought into the fallacy that we can do it all and have it all. I have news for you. You can’t do it all! At least not without sacrifices. Therefore, you need to focus on the most important things. Achieving balance involves a three-step process. It’s simple in theory, but difficult in practice.
1. Determine what’s most important
First determine what’s most important to you. Take time to think about your priorities. What are the most important things in life? Make a list. Think of “things” in a broad sense. They could be tangible things such as a nice house, or intangible, such as a happy family or a challenging career.
2. Prioritize
Review your list of important things. Which are most critical? Draw an asterisk next to the five most important things. The next step involves the difficult task of prioritizing your top five in priority order (1 through 5). To aid in this process, ask yourself, “If my life depended upon it, which of these could I live without?”
3. Determine how to spend your time
Once you determine what’s most important, then determine how to spend your time based upon your priorities. Most people don’t keep their priorities in mind as they go about their activities each week. Look at your calendar or schedule for the past week. How did you spend your time? Look at your top five most important priorities. Are these two aligned? For most people the answer is “no”. If that’s the case, then you need to make some changes.
Where are your priorities and your time out of alignment? Where do you need to spend more time? Less time? Focus on the most important, and say “no” to the unimportant. Carve out time for your most important priorities. If you say your spouse is important, but you’re more like two ships passing through the night, then schedule a date night. Actually write it on the calendar. Then say “no” to less important activities. If you’re handling a lot of the minutia at work, then delegate it to your assistant. This allows you to focus on the important aspects of your job, rather than the details. If you’re letting other less important activities get in the way, then you are not honoring your priorities.
The key to achieving balance is to align how you spend your time with your priorities. If you follow this three-step process and implement it, you’ll experience greater peace, harmony and balance in your life.
Do you ever feel like you’re on a treadmill and can’t get off? Our busy, hectic schedules can drain us of energy and enthusiasm for life. We need to take a time-out each day to nurture our souls. Here are 7 spiritual practices that will rejuvenate you. Practicing these habits can bring you peace of mind, and help you maintain a sense of balance in your life.
- Take quiet time to be still and reflect on your life. We’re constantly running on the treadmill of life that we rarely take time for reflection.
- Get clear about your values. When you’re crystal-clear about your values and what that looks like in terms of behaviors, then you’re more likely to actually live by your values.
- Practice gratefulness. List all the things you’re grateful for. When you’re feeling down, pull out your list and review it.
- Take a walk outside when you’re feeling stressed and uptight. Getting outside in the fresh air and taking a walk will do you good.
- Listen to inspirational music. It will lift your spirits.
- Read inspirational literature.
- Take time to pray and meditate each day.
What do you do to rejuvenate your soul? Please share with other readers.
Do you feel frazzled? Do you have too much to do and not enough time? Life is complicated! Do you long for a time when things were simpler and the pace of life was slower? How can you simplify your life in today’s fast-paced, complex world? Here are tips to help you simplify your life and regain peace of mind.
Cut Out Tasks and Activities
This may surprise you, but you cannot do it all! That’s a fallacy that some of us grew up with. We’ve been told we can do it all and have it all. The reality is we have limited time and energy.
That means we need to be able to say “no” to the unimportant (or less important) activities. What do you need to say “no” to? What unimportant activities crowd your schedule? Do you really need to be involved in four professional organizations or networking groups? Can you cut out one or two?
Do you have a hard time saying “no” to others? Who do you need to say “no” to? Maybe it’s time to say “no” the next time the PTA President asks to you help with your child’s school fundraiser.
Get Help
We all have a lot to do, but keep in mind that you don’t have to be the one to do it all. Share the load. In two-career families women still take on the primary responsibility for home and child care. Studies show that women do 75% of household chores – even when they hold jobs outside the home. Can your spouse or children take on more responsibility at home? Can you delegate more tasks to your assistant at work?
Also consider hiring out the job. Your time is valuable! By hiring a housekeeper or gardener you can spend more quality time with your family. One of the best things I did when I was working and going to school was to hire a housekeeper. It was well worth the money!
Consolidate Activities
By consolidating activities we can maximize our time. Here are some examples:
- Consolidate errands. Stop off at the dry cleaners and post office on your way home from work. That saves driving time (and gas!).
- Cook in large quantities and freeze ahead. This saves time and hassle at the end of a work day. You can just pull something out of the freezer.
- Shop over the Internet. This saves time shopping and standing in long lines.
No matter what your circumstances you should be able to apply at least one of these tips. Start making changes now by cutting out activities, saying “no”, delegating, hiring, or consolidating activities. As you implement these changes, you’ll gain greater balance and peace of mind.
What tips for simplifying your life can you share with other readers?
According to a recent CareerBuilder.com survey, more than half of American workers said they work under a great deal of stress, and 77 percent said they feel burned out on the job. How about you? Are you burnt out? Take this short survey to determine if you are burnt out or approaching burnout. Respond to the following statements using the scale below:
1 = Disagree
2 = Tend to Disagree
3 = Tend to Agree
4 = Agree
- I tire more easily; I feel more fatigued than energetic.
- People tell me that I don’t look so good lately.
- I am working harder and harder and accomplishing less and less.
- I am increasingly cynical and disenchanted.
- I am often invaded by a sadness I can’t explain.
- Lately I forget appointments, deadlines, or where I put personal possessions.
- I am increasingly irritable and short-tempered.
- I see close friends and family less frequently.
- I am too busy to do routine things like make phone calls, read the newspaper or my mail.
- I suffer from physical complaints (aches, pains, headaches, lingering cold).
- Joy is elusive to me.
- I am unable to laugh at a joke about myself.
Total your score to determine how well you’re dealing with stress.
0 – 21 Fine; you’re dealing with stress well
22 – 28 Watch Out
29 – 35 Candidate for Burn Out
36+ Burnt Out
© 2005 by Kathleen Barton, Your Life Balance Coach
Relationships are important to a healthy balance. We all need other people in our lives. Spending time with family or friends can help rejuvenate us. We also need people we can depend upon in times of need – to provide emotional support, comfort, or a helping hand.
Sometimes we get so busy that we neglect important relationships – with our spouse, children, extended family, or friends. It’s easy to take our spouse for granted, and then eventually drift apart. We need to invest time to nurture our marriage. When we’re busy, we often don’t make time for friends, and our friendships fade over time. How can we make these important relationships a priority? Here are ten tips to help you maintain relationships over time.
- Schedule a date night with your spouse. Go out for coffee, dinner, a movie, etc. or spend a quiet, intimate evening at home and send the kids to a sitter’s house.
- Attend a marriage retreat together once a year.
- Get away for an overnight stay every few months. Time away from work, home, and kids will do wonders for your marriage.
- Use Skype to connect with family members who live far away. It’s the next best thing to being there.
- Use Facebook or e-mail to catch up with extended family and friends.
- Schedule a lunch date with a friend at least once a month.
- Schedule a game night or potluck dinner once a month with friends and neighbors.
- Call on your cell phone and catch up with a friend. You can even talk while you’re folding laundry or driving on the freeway.
- Keep a record of birthdays of family members and close friends. Then at the beginning of each month, buy birthday cards for everyone with a birthday that month.
- Develop a good support network of people (family, friends, neighbors) with whom you can exchange favors.
Do you have any tips to add to this list? Please share with other readers what you do to maintain important relationships?