Ashley has a demanding career and two young children.  Between work and family, she has no time for anything else.  She rarely sees friends and ends up putting herself last.  Sound familiar?  With limited time, many women feel frustrated with conflicting priorities.  For many of us, there’s a disconnect between what we value and how we spend our time.  For example:

• We value time with our children, but we have to work long hours and also travel on the job.
• We enjoy spending time with our spouse, but our weekends are filled with household chores, grocery shopping, laundry, etc. instead of quality time with our spouse.
• We value good health, but we can’t find time to exercise.  We eat meals on the go which are unhealthy, and then end up feeling tired or sick.

After weeks, months and even years of not being able to live like we want, we give up and accept that this is the way it’s going to be.  But it doesn’t have to be this way!  You don’t have to be at the mercy of your job and other people.  Instead of feeling angry and resentful, make up your mind to change what you have and what you do.  You can make changes.

Start by making a list of what you value in life (family? friends? health? career? charitable service? leisure time? etc.).  Then track your time and record how many hours you spend each week devoted to each item on your list.  In order to focus more time on your values and priorities, schedule time on your calendar for these things – such as reading to your kids, spending time with your spouse or friends, exercising, etc.  Then follow through and devote the time.

If you’re able to successfully realign your time and activity with your values, you’ll gain valuable benefits.  You’ll understand the true tradeoff between time and money, have deeper relationships with your spouse and children, and have more “free time” to spend as you like.

For more information on balancing work and life, listen to the audio “The Balancing Act: Managing Work and Life“.