Its difficult not get caught up with wanting everything, yet still having time for everything. How is it possible to accomplish everything on the to-do list and feel fulfilled at the end of the day? There is a way of managing a career, taking care of the family, fulfilling responsibilities, and still enjoy life with a few tips. So if you’re looking for ways to live a balanced life, here are tips to having it all.
Give Up Perfection
One thing to keep in mind that a work-life-family balance is an illusive dream. No one is capable of being great at everything. Just ask any athlete training for a competition. They will sleep, eat, train and repeat while preparing for it. If balance is what you want, then accept what you’re not capable of doing everything and let go of things that fall short of perfection. Like this work-balance video say, “pick imperfect variety over flawless focus.”
Focus on Whats Important
A great concept from the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People is the four quadrant. Breaking down all our task into 4 quadrants. These four quadrant are one “urgent, and important,” two “non-urgent, but important,” three “urgent, but non-important,” and four “non-urgent, and non-important.”
Majority of us consume our time in quadrant three (daily errands, most emails and calls) and four (wasting time, pointless meetings), as they often deceive us or distraction us from things that truly matter. Our focus should be on quadrant one (crisis, pending problems), and quadrant two (building relationship, planning goals) as these will enrich our lives and help us accomplish more in a day. Also don’t be afraid to cut things that are not adding value to your life. If its a friend, a hobby, or a job that adds more stress, and no fulfillment, let it go.
Time Block
Begin blocking time for specific task each day. Our brains are not capable of performing multiple task efficiently. Therefore start by prioritizing your task, break these task into smaller segments (planning, gathering material or data, meetings, etc) and schedule time for each segments. Scheduling first the top prioritizes and fill the rest of time with daily errands, breaks, and other task related to quadrant 3 (explained above). And avoid over complicating or adding task that will interfere with the schedule.
Set Mini Goal
Set goals in four areas in your life: finance, career, adventure/fun, and relationships. Break these goals into mini goals in the beginning of each day, week, and month. These goals can all tie together to a yearly goal or stand on its own. Either way once these goals are set, make an action plan, and add to the time block schedule to better ensure they are accomplished. This will ensure the days will be driven with more purpose instead of aimlessly.
Ask for Help
The only way to find time for everything is to ask for help. Although asking for help is difficult, remember we all will need help at one point of our lives, if we want it or not, so begin accepting it. Find an area or areas where you can benefit from help and ask graciously. This way you can focus on either more important task or those that solely require your attention.
Make me time
Make time to shut off the mind and body. Like everything else in life, the mind and body needs rest in order to run properly. So if its knitting, running, or just watching TV, will give you time for “you” then do so in moderation. Also practicing mediation is helpful way to teach the mind to shut off and focus within. Headspace is a great meditation app to start learning how to meditate.