As a business owner and mother of three, balancing work and life can definitely be a challenge. But I also know how important it is to not get caught up in all the things that need to be done, because let’s get real, there is always more to be done!
While I have not perfected this (quite yet), I understand the importance for my mental and physical health and for my relationships to make time for non-work related activities. Here are a few tricks that I use to help me find balance in my life.
1. Scheduling my Workouts
Everyone thinks that I must work out all the time, that’s it’s easy for me because my work is my workout. But I don’t do the exercises when I teach and if I didn’t plan ahead, I could easily go weeks without getting in a full hour class. I know how important it is for my health and mental well being to make sure I get my exercise in so I make sure to prioritize it. My teaching schedule changes often because I pick up classes, teach at different studios, etc. so at the beginning of each week, I look at where and when I am teaching so I can schedule to take a class before or after. I’ll also look at the appointments I have during the week and try to schedule taking different teachers classes around them.
2. Having a Routine for Meals
In a post I wrote last Spring, I shared my meal planning process. This process helps me save time, money and most importantly the energy it takes to plan and prepare healthy meals for my family. I would highly encourage any mother who is busy with balancing work, life and an endless list of kids activities to try this out. It has been a lifesaver for me!
3. Shutting Down
We’ve all heard it numerous times but having a designated hour that you shut down at night is key to maintaining a healthy work-life balance. In this day and age, it’s so easy to quickly open your phone to answer an email or check in on numbers. When you do that at times when you’re supposed to be with others, you’re saying “this is more important than being with you right now.” It also stimulates your brain so that’s it’s harder to wind down and get a quality night’s sleep. I really do my best to set the electronics aside so I can be present and enjoy my evenings, weekends and mornings with my family and friends.
4. Leaving Open Time in my Calendar
Let’s get real, nothing takes 5 minutes, right?! I have found that leaving some wiggle room in my schedule for traffic, unexpected phone calls, etc. has saved me tremendously. If you think something might take an hour, schedule an hour and a half. If you combine that with tip number 3 above, you will only plan for what you realistically can manage in a week. Sometimes this means things get pushed off until the following week or it means I don’t get back to someone right away but to me that feels better than ending every single day feeling like I didn’t get everything done that I planned.
5. Embracing Imperfection
In an ideal world, I’d love to work out 5 times a week. Sometimes that happens, other times it doesn’t. I can’t say that every night I am able to not get on my phone to check in on a scheduling need or a request from a studio owner, but most of the time I try to do so. And being ok with “most of the time” is key to allowing me to be successful in my definition of work-life balance. Letting go of perfection is a useful tool to finding ease.
I hope these tips help you find a little more balance in your day!
— Jill