Life Balance: How To Juggle Work, Family And Personal Time
Is it really possible to find a good balance between work, family life, and personal time? If your first reaction is a loud no, then it’s highly likely that your own life is a busy one and you’ve got so much to do that being able to balance anything is just impossible (or feels like it, at least).
With deadlines looming, household chores piling up, and family commitments demanding attention, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed, and the problem is that when that happens, it can start to feel normal – which it definitely shouldn’t be.
The good news is that with some careful planning and a few simple techniques to follow, it’s possible to find a way through, and balance everything that you need to. With that in mind, keep reading to find out how to juggle work, family life and personal time.
It can be done!
How To Juggle Work, Family And Personal Time in 3 Ways
How To Juggle Work, Family And Personal Time #1
Make A To-Do List
It might seem almost too simple, but making a to-do list should always be the first thing you do if you find you’re starting to get overwhelmed. Not only will it help you determine what has to be done and by when, but it’s also a great way to get everything out of your head and onto paper (or a device, etc), which can be a relief and help to de-stress you.
Make a list of all your responsibilities at work and at home, and rank them in order of importance so you know what has to be done first. Don’t try to skip past chores and tasks to get to easier ones, or you’ll find you run out of time, get stressed, and you’ll still have the more tricky ones to do anyway; you might as well get them done sooner rather than later (especially if there’s a deadline associated with them).
Once you’ve done that, you’ll know where you’re meant to be focusing your time and energy, and you can even delegate anything that’s not going to get done because you’ll know what those tasks are, which means you’ll know who to ask.
Further Reading: How to Educate Your Child – 7 Wonderful Ways to Help
How To Juggle Work, Family And Personal Time #2
Set Boundaries
One of the biggest challenges in juggling work, family life, and personal time is a lack of boundaries – one thing can easily bleed into the next, and before you know it you’re getting stressed and losing time, having to skip some things to do others.
If you can set clear boundaries between work and home life by establishing designated work hours and sticking to them as much as possible, and then ensuring you’ve got time to spend with your family, and some time for your own hobbies as well, then it should all work out.
If something didn’t get finished in its allocated time, don’t allow it to take up time in your other allocations – that’s how things can get overwhelming. Of course, you’ll have to bend the rules on occasion when there’s something really urgent to be done, but that should be a rare thing, so don’t let it become a habit.
It’s also wise to let other people know about your boundaries – tell your team so they don’t expect a response if they contact you, for example, and tell your family so you can all work together to have the same time allocated for one another. Not only will things work out more easily, but you’ll be held accountable too, and that can be very useful, especially when you’re just getting started and need to get used to your new boundaries.
Further Reading: How to Work from Home More Efficiently in 5 Ways
How To Juggle Work, Family And Personal Time #3
Practice Time Management Techniques
Good time management is another truly important part of being able to juggle work, family life, and personal time, and it can be done a lot more easily when you use specially designed tools, like calendars, planners, or mobile apps to schedule your tasks and appointments and set yourself reminders (which could be vital).
You’ve already created a to-do list, so you should easily be able to put the tasks in order of importance and priority, but you can also break larger tasks up into smaller ones, as that will make things easier to manage and fit into your schedule. You’ll also want to allocate time for unexpected interruptions or emergencies like buying Mother’s Day flowers because you forgot, or having to go to a doctor’s appointment – you just never know what’s going to come up, and if you leave yourself time, you won’t get stressed about it. In fact, you might even find you gain time because you’re more aware of how to use it.
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