12 Steps to to a better life balance
“To be successful, you must sacrifice your family.” ….. This is a myth…It’s a myth because it’s not true. It’s a myth because it oversimplifies the complexity of family dynamics and business success. It’s a myth because it ignores the many ways in which families can support their members as they pursue their dreams. And most importantly, it’s a myth because it encourages people to make sacrifices that are unnecessary – or even harmful – to them and their families.
The truth is that you can have both. You can pursue your dreams and still have a happy family life by being honest about what you’re doing, being proactive about communicating with your loved ones and making sure that they’re on board with what you’re doing so they can support you through it all.
As a working mom myself, I’ve been there. I know how it feels to feel like every decision you make is going to affect the people closest to you. It’s not just about deciding whether or not you want to go back to work after having a baby—it’s also about deciding how much time you want to spend with your kids, whether that means working from home or taking them with you when they’re old enough. And even if you do decide not to bring your kids into the office, there are still so many other ways that your career can interfere with your family life: The long hours on weekends; the travel required for many jobs; and the constant stress of knowing that if something goes wrong at work, it could affect your family’s finances in a big way.
Finding a balance between your career and your family life is no simple feat. It’s not just about making sure you’re spending enough time with your kids, but also about making sure that you’re putting in the hours at work so that you get ahead.
So how do you do it? Here are a few tips for finding balance between your career and your family life:
- Take care of yourself first Many people believe that if they work hard enough, they’ll eventually get ahead. The problem is that when we’re so busy working, we don’t have time for sleep or for anything else in our lives. This can lead to burnout and frustration. One way around this is by taking care of yourself first — before work even begins. Make sure your personal life is in order before diving into your career goals full-time. You’ll be able to better manage stress and avoid burnout if you take care of yourself first!
- Make time for yourself: Take a walk on your lunch break, go out to dinner with friends or even just take a bath! You need to carve out time for yourself so that you don’t burn out.
- Get enough sleep: Sleep deprivation can wreak havoc on both your mood and concentration levels, so make sure you get at least 8 hours of sleep every night!
- Set realistic goals for yourself. It’s easy to get overwhelmed if you try to do everything at once. You can’t expect yourself to be in two places at once, so prioritize what’s important and make sure it gets done first.Set goals both at home (such as “I will take Wednesday off from work so I can spend time with my kids”) as well as at work (such as “I will spend 30 minutes every day catching up on email”).
- Learn how to say no! When someone asks for your help with a project or event, think about whether or not it’s really something that needs your attention right now—and if it does, ask yourself if there’s anyone else who could do it instead of you.
- Don’t feel bad about delegating tasks! This is especially important if you’re a parent with young children or an older parent who may need some extra help around the house with things like laundry or meal prep. You can delegate these tasks to other family members or paid helpers.
- Make sure your partner is on board with whatever decisions you make about your career, even if they aren’t thrilled about them. It’s important for both people in a relationship to be on the same page about what sacrifices are being made so that neither partner feels like they’re being taken advantage of by the other person’s choices. If you’re not sure how your partner feels about your decision, talk about it before making any final decisions!
- Keep a schedule of when you need to be at work, when you need to take calls, and when you need to be available for your family. This will help you avoid burnout and make sure that both sides of your life are getting the attention they need.
- Take advantage of technology! There are tons of apps out there that help manage schedules and calendars; just make sure they’re ones that work well with both sides of your life! Set up automatic reminders for yourself throughout the day so that when it’s time for lunch or dinner, for example, your phone will remind you with a text message saying “It’s time for lunch!” This will help keep track of when it’s time to go home so that nothing falls through the cracks!
- Try not to spend too much time on social media sites like Facebook or Twitter while at work because they can really distract from what’s important right now!
- Write down everything that comes into your head, then prioritize those things in order of importance and do them one at a time until they’re all done! If you do this consistently, you’ll be amazed at how much more quickly and efficiently you get things done—and how much more time you have for yourself when other people are waiting for something from you!
- Be sure to take vacations every now and then! It may seem unreasonable, but studies show that taking vacations can increase productivity among employees who take them regularly.
My final tip would be: Write down three things that make you happy—something that helps you relax, something that makes you laugh, and something that makes you feel accomplished—and do one thing from this list every day after work or on weekends.
Make sure you have a good work-life balance—it’s important for both sides of the equation! You don’t want one side taking over the other; instead, try balancing time with family and time on your job.
