We live in a
busy world. Our lives are dictated by our jobs, school, family, church,
travels, volunteerism, pets and a host of other commitments. We think we have
to fill every slot in our calendars whether it is to feel important or be
cause
we seem to have trouble saying "no"! Whatever the reason, it happens
and then we feel overwhelmed when we cannot do it all. We get stressed, then
our health suffers, then our pocketbook and it becomes a vicious cycle.
Sound familiar?
I think we can all relate. So what can you do to minimize that stress and find
a balance in your work and personal life?
Start small.
Take baby steps. Learn to say NO to the things that really do not matter at the
end of the day. Find out what is most important to you now and in the long
term. What are you most passionate about? Obviously there are some things you
HAVE to do such as work, school, taking care of your children. Make those a
priority.
Prioritize,
categorize,minimize and organize! Take control of your life and your calendar.
Learn to delegate tasks, donate the things you don't need in your home,
organize your files/home/office and schedule time for yourself! Pencil in
downtime for you by yourself as well as with the spouse (date night) and family
via mini vacations or just a weekend hanging out. Hire a sitter for the
children, the pets and your home!
Calculate what
your time is worth when you have to miss work to meet the electrician or cable
tech or take the car to the shop.
"The average worker admits to frittering
away more than 2.09 hours a day, not counting lunch, on personal business. This
costs companies an estimated $759 billion a year.” - Salary.com Consider
outsourcing those tasks so you can focus on being productive at work and having
more free time with your loved ones. If you have trouble getting the files in
order, hire an organizer to take care of it for you.
Remember, baby
steps! You too can find work/life balance one small step at a time.
