I am a mom, a wife, a substitute school teacher, a part-time office assistant, recently finished my elementary teaching certification, and I have a growing online fitness business. I have had to learn a few things about balancing it all. Fortunately for me there are experts on the subject of balancing my family life with my work life and my fitness life, and my personal life. Just saying it like that makes me think I should be tired, but the truth is I have lots of energy and I am not tired, most of the time. I think that is in large part because I have found a way to make it all work for me and I enjoy everything I do. No, that does not mean that I enjoy cleaning the toilets or grocery shopping, but I do enjoy having a home that is clean and neat and a pantry and refrigerator stocked with healthy foods. So while I may not enjoy each and every task, I do enjoy the rewards of those tasks. My goal today is to share the things I have learned about balancing all these facets of my life with you so that you can better balance yours, regardless of your pursuits.
1. Define what your priorities are. This step is critical and without it you are setting yourself up to feel like you are spinning your wheels without making progress. Take the time to list what your top 5 priorities are. And when you do this, don't make the mistake of being vague. If your family is priority number 1 then be specific. Is it spending time with your family? Is it providing financially for your family? Is it making sure you sit down every night at the dinner table with your family? Make sure you define it specifically, that will help you later on.
2. Set some goals. What is it that you want to achieve? Whatever they are, list your goals. Keep your list of priorities handy so you can make sure the goals you are setting are in line with your priorities. If the goals you have written on your list don't match, you will always feel out of balance. You will feel like your life is pulling you in one direction and your passions another and balance will seem like a distant dream. This is not to say that your goals and dreams need to change completely. There may be a way to tweak them to be more in line with your priorities.
3. Create a Daily To-Do List. Chalene Johnson calls this a CCDMTDL, otherwise known as a Carefully Crafted, Diligently Maintained To-Do List. And to be honest her way of explaining this is what propelled me into a life filled with glee. Once you have brainstormed your ideas on paper and broken down your goals into action items you can begin your To-Do List. I have items on my To-Do List that are there each and every week, items that are there daily and items that come and go as soon as they are completed. The point is you need to have your list so you know each and every day what must be done. That also allows you to know when you can stop and enjoy some down time. I use Task App on my DROID called "Check It Off" but there are others that may work better for you. You will need to find one that suits your needs. I like having it on my phone because my phone is always with me. I definitely recommend Chalene's Car Smart CD on Creating a To-Do List as well
as her FREE 30 Day Challenge that walks you through the process.
4. Schedule, Schedule, SCHEDULE. Now that you have your To-Do List you have to the tasks into your daily schedule. I like using Google Calendar because I can update it either from my phone or my computer and have it at all times. I do not have the sort of schedule that says I am at work from 8-5 every day. My schedule fluctuates, sometimes I don't know what I am doing or where I am going until 6am. But, I have my To-Do List handy all the time and I can schedule my day first thing in the morning. That way I know when I have to pack lunches, clean toilets, call customers, write blog posts, socialize on Facebook, etc. Yes... I even schedule my Facebook time, otherwise I would get lost there for hours! Whether you create your daily schedule every morning or every Sunday night for the week to come, make sure you do it. This is critical to your success. Also, don't forget to give yourself a little extra time. You never know when your sister will call with a crisis, you will get stuck behind a slow driver, or the 3 page email you just typed will get itself lost in cyberspace because your computer freezes.
5. Recharge your batteries. With a task list a mile long and only 24 hours in a day you may be thinking that you will have to work from sun up to sun down with no time to relax. That is not true. The point of your list and schedule is to allow you to get your work done, make forward progress each and every day, and STOP when you have checked off the items on your list for that day.
If you find that no matter that you have a To-Do List and a schedule you find yourself procrastinating, check out Eat That Frog! By Brian Tracy. It has made a huge impact on me and it is one of those books I have committed to re-reading every January!
I hope that these steps that have helped me find balance also help you. Let me know if you have any questions. I appreciate each and every comment left here on my blog.
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