Balance

Posts: 697
4/9/10 2:50 P

It's certainly not easy. Just do your best day to day! :O)

Posts: 381
4/9/10 10:08 A

It's not easy, that's for sure! I work full time, I have two children in elementary school, we are in the middle of the peewee soccer season, I have to have time to work out, and I'm currently working on getting my personal trainer certification.
I get overwhelmed sometimes, but what worked for me was learning to prioritize. My kids, obviously, are the most important thing. I have a wonderful babysitter that watches them after school until I get home at 5, and she gets their homework done with them. That way when I get home, I can do their reading with them, they can help me cook dinner, or they can go to the gym with me. I work out at 5:15 am because no one in my house is up yet, and I don't have to be at work until 8. So it's a stress free time to work out. I work 8-5, but I go home for lunch so that is my hour to just kick back and relax, run a load of laundry through the washer, whatever.
You have to learn to make use of the minutes, and you have to learn to laugh and let go :) It's never easy, but even just realizing that it's never easy somehow made it easier.

SparkPoints: (7,440)
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Posts: 442
4/1/10 9:18 P

Being organized and trying to prepare as much as possible helps me. I also never hesitate to ask for help, from my husband, sisters or kids. I also give myself a break too. If I got every little thing I thought had to be done accomplished the constant stress would kill me. I prioritize, sometimes dishes don't get washed right away, but if the kids are fed and get to school on time with their homework, I consider that a victory. You gotta give yourself a break every once in a while, there's already enough pressure on all of us.

SparkPoints: (46,705)
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Posts: 2,169
3/30/10 4:27 P

Suggest you involve your children and husband when possible with exercise, cleaning, cooking, gardening, etc. Set up a schedule like years ago with choosing a particular day to do time consuming things i.e. Laundry on Monday, Mop on Tuesday, Yard work on Wednesday, Thursday movie night, Friday date night, Sat. family time, Sunday relax day. The more you can follow a schedule the better. Difficult but makes it manageable. Good Luck

SparkPoints: (8,724)
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Posts: 637
3/30/10 4:10 P

Yikes - still working through this myself!

A big part is to release yourself from the need to feel like you have it all under control. Then you can prioritize what's most important.

I wake up 1.5-2 hours before my little boy so I can workout and shower. That way, it's out of the way and I can play with him when he gets up. I value that so much since I work part time. I try to do as many crockpot dinners as possible so that I'm not in the kitchen for over an hour after work getting dinner ready while hubby and little man play without me.

Then Little Man goes to bed and I take care of anything urgent for the next day and then relax with hubby for a few minutes.

I make sure I get at least 7 hours of sleep a night, or else I revert back to back habits and end up stressed out and feeling guilty about not being a trophy wife, lol!

My roomie and hubby help me get out of the house now for a movie or karaoke, so they definitely help me stay balanced there.

Hope this helps!

Posts: 32
3/30/10 2:46 P

how do you balance family, work, exercise, friends, school, everything? I am desperately looking for ideas to help me with the whole balance thing. TY