Balancing Work and Life

One of my very first blog posts was Finding Balance. It has been over 2 months since I hit the publish button on it and I clearly still have a lot to learn about this topic.

I have been a stay-at-home mom for 13 years. Various jobs have entered and exited my life during the course of those years, including jewelry making, pyramid-type sales, even buying and selling a coffee shop. Nothing has thrown me into an unbalanced tailspin quite as much as becoming a blogger has. After I wrote that original post chronicling my struggles, I decided to throw a 31-day series into the mix. Just in case that wasn’t going to be life consuming enough, I chose not one, but three incredibly strong addictions to give up for my topic…

I spent the first half of October seriously ill from detox. All I could manage to do was get out 4-5 posts per week and focus on keeping sugar, flour, and wheat out of my diet. As difficult as this has been, I would do it all over again for the lessons I have learned and the removal of all those harmful substances from my body.

However, as the series starts to come to a close and I awaken from my blog and food plan induced coma, I’m seeing it is time to adjust my focus. My house is frighteningly dirty. I had to pull pants out of the dirty clothes for my son to wear last night to our church’s Trunk or Treat. He was willing to wear the same costume from last year to that function. For Halloween night in the neighborhood, he is expecting something new and now I have less than 3 days to make it.

Being the reader and researcher I am, I set out to discover some tips on living a balanced life. My favorite advice comes from MomMD.com:

1. “Focus on your priorities.” As I said in my original post on balance, my priorities are God, my family, and using this blog to help others. Many other things have been dropped from my schedule.
2. “Get organized.” Have a structured plan in place. Know how you will deal with emergencies before they happen. This is a tough one for us mommies: “Don’t allow someone else’s poor planning to become your emergency or priority.”
3. “Be flexible.” I have seen first hand this month how life interrupts us no matter how much we plan. Allowing myself to skip a couple of posts and not berating myself when my diet wasn’t perfect have been life saving.
4. “Create daily routines.” Be sure to include healthy habits, self-care, work, family time, etc. I am working on a daily time schedule. I need blocks to tell me when to stop one activity and begin another. Otherwise I get stuck in one task all day.
5. “Establish support networks.” I am blessed with friends, family, and so many new supportive blogging friends. My faith in God continues to grow every day as well, which is truly the greatest support network you can ever ask for.
6. “Simplify your life.” Choose what is most important. Learn how to say no.

I hope these tips help us all to live a healthier, happier, and more balanced life. Please let me know of any personal strategies that serve you well. I can use all the help I can get in this immensely important area…