Reader’s Request: How to Balance

First things first, how about a little Pipes Challenge check-in!

I have a confession to make I only did 2 days this past week! Somehow the challenge slipped my mind. Luckily, I remembered it last night and completed Week 2, Day 2. I’ll just have an extra day this week. No biggie!

While I’m confessing my mess-ups, I should mention that I totally forgot about this lovely (no pun intended) award that was passed to me by two beautiful bloggers: Carrie and Colleen! Thanks ladies!

As usual, there are a few ‘rules’ that come along with this award. And as usual, I’m going to break them.

Confession? I like to break the rules. I’m a rebel without a cause.

Not really, but it sounds fun, right?

One of the rules involves sharing 7 random facts about myself. I’m running out of random facts – so go check out my other randomness here and here.

Tell me something random about yourself!

Reader’s Request: Perfecting Your Balance

I recently received an e-mail from a reader asking me how I balance my life. I’m a mother, a student, a blogger, a girlfriend, a homeowner, etc. She wanted to know how I still make time to work out and eat healthy when I’m fulfilling all my all roles.

A balanced life is something we all strive for. A balanced life takes time, patience, and practice. Even when you think you have it all figured out—boom—something else is added to your plate and you have to factor that in as well.

I wish I could say I was a balancing superstar, but admittedly, I am not. These days, my plate is full. Heck, I might even go as far to say that my plate is overflowing. I’m certain many of you are in the same boat.

Yet, I do have a pretty good grip on the scales of balance. If my priorities seem to be getting out of whack, I re-evaluate and tip the scales back to their lovely balanced position. If only they would just stay there forever, then balance would be a piece of cake.

How can you balance it all?

Prioritize. My health is not something I’m ever willing to put on the back burner. Nor is motherhood. In order to perform well in my various roles, I need to be healthy and energized. Therefore, health closely follows my priorities as a mother. If that means that vacuuming or loading the dishwasher has to wait one more day – then so be it.

Don’t underestimate the time tasks will take. I’ll admit that I am horrible at judging how much time a task will take. I often give myself 2 hours to finish a task, and then it ends up taking 4. I’d say this comes through practice. For now, I’m trying to remind myself of my inept judging skills and allotting more time than I think is necessary.

Plan your week ahead of time. Meals, appointments, assignments, work outs, even cleaning can be planned. Make sure to plan relaxation time as well – sometimes it needs to be factored in or else it won’t happen! Plan girl’s nights and even date nights ahead of time. That way if you know your night is full, then you can plan accordingly.

In line with the tip above keep a detailed agenda. This is crucial to balancing for me. I don’t ever confirm a date or time until I’ve consulted my agenda.

Learn how to say no. This is a hard one, but you have to realize that sometimes you just can’t do it all. Say yes to the things that you really want to do and say no to the others. Compromise. Use your priorities as a way to judge what’s important and what’s not.

Give it time don’t expect your life to fall into place after a week of trying.

Use a system of trial and error. If something’s clearly not working, change it up!

Keep changing it up until it feels right.

Just like anything else in life, balance takes work.

How do you balance your life?