Is your life off balance?  Too much on your plate?  (No, we’re not talking food here!)  Too much to do and not enough time?  And definitely not enough time to chill out and relax?

Don’t worry ~ you’re not alone.

Being a good spouse, parent and professional takes time, energy and patience.

Managing our responsibilities well requires making conscious choices, setting realistic expectations and handling our time and resources wisely — without neglecting our own health and relaxation needs.

But it is possible; we can maintain a stable and nurturing home environment while pursuing a career.

How?

Get up early: Yes, we need our sleep, but that quiet time for ourselves each morning can make a big difference in the day.  And hey, if you get up an hour early for one year, you will have created about 10 additional weeks of time.

Manage your time well: Don’t procrastinate, or allow yourself to get distracted.  Make your to-do list every day and get it done.  Take care of things with the 4 D Rule – Do it, Delegate it, Defer it or Delete it.

Look into all your options: If you work outside the home, can you talk to your employer about flex hours? Is it time to look for a less demanding job?  Or can you work from home?

Share the load: Whether it’s having your spouse help with managing the bills or running the kids around, or having the kids helping with housework ~ communicate with your family about needing them to pitch in.  Everyone working together as a team eases the strain and also builds stronger relationships.

Don’t sweat the small stuff: You can’t do it all right now, it doesn’t all need to be done right now.  Learn what can wait, and what can’t.  Mopping the floor can.  Going to watch your kids’ game can’t.

Designate Family Fun times: Whether it’s a day at a park, bike rides, family board game night, camping in the backyard or planting flowers together – we should schedule these things in our weekly schedules just like we do for work, and appointments and make sure we show up!

Plan Chill time: Really – I know it seems bad when you have to actually schedule yourself some down time, but it is what it is.  For many of us that are on the go non-stop, if we don’t plan it, it won’t happen.  So yeah, you deserve a little ‘me time’, whatever that may mean for you.  Step away from the computer, shut the phone off and enjoy an hour in a hot bath with a book, a bike ride, window shopping at the mall, shooting hoops with some buddies, fishing, whatever clears your mind.  Plan some ‘me time’ on a regular basis and do it.  Your children, spouse & career all need you to be rejuvenated. Oh and most importantly – You deserve it.