I have been compiling a quick list of practical tips to help you in the process of maintaining work life balance as well as provide a tool to manage overwhelm.
You have probably heard of some of these before, but are you actually doing them? Probably not, right?
So, if this resonates for you, give it a try. You may even want to print this out and keep it near your computer to remind yourself that life balance is an everyday practice and focus. Not an end goal, but an everyday goal.
Start with just a few things at a time… make a new habit and see how it works for you.
1) Prioritize
Make a list of things you need to do today. If this list is already overwhelming in itself, you have got yourself focused in too many directions to create easy flow. If you want to fight your way through life, this would be the way to do that. However if you want to flow through life, you must shift your habits.
Start to prioritize again, but this time take a deep cleansing breath, know that you are not alone and that the entire Universe wants to support you.
Once you have your list of tasks for today, it’s time to find your balance. Feel into your body for which things are calling you to focus on right now. Bring your focus only to one or two things that are needed in the next 10- 90 days. In other words, don’t spend time with your focus on worrying about how you are ever going to get it all done with everything you have to do when you can’t seem to even get started.
2) Start with the first logical step, and then the second…
Many of us try to do too much and that’s where we defeat ourselves through becoming overwhelmed or worse, we make ourselves sick. Once you have your top priorities, work on the next logical step in that direction. Once that is completed you move on the the second.
Sometimes I even set a timer to help me stay focused for a set amount of time. Many of us have a tendency to let one thing lead into another and then another and another – until I have all these balls up in the air and nothing gets completely done. Whew!
3) Schedule Downtime
It’s easy to fall into the common misconception that your calendar is purely for appointments. It is important that you also add planned activities just for yourself, friends and family. The balance is easier to see on a calendar and if you are lacking in something in your daily experience, you will clearly see it and can schedule more fun into your life.
There is a bonus in this practice besides the obvious. You are generating energy and rejuvenation just by scheduling that time for yourself. Each time you see it on your calendar, it gives you things to look forward to! Unless is doesn’t, – and then you need to get clear on a whole different topic!
Scheduling downtime actually helps you manage your life better because once you are refreshed, you won’t believe how much more clear headed you will be and how much more you will accomplish in less time.
One of my favorite deep healing practices is to take long baths… Water is healing to the soul. I especially love adding scented himalayan bath salts to the water and lighting candles. Once I have the candles lit, I start to play with the energy and focus on the flame. I intend for the flame to steady and lengthen. It is pretty amazing that as I begin to quiet my mind and steady my focus, the constrictions that I have held in my body begin to relax and lengthen as well.
Pretty cool eh? What are your favorite deep healing practices?
4) Get Help
Do you have trouble asking for help? For years I was really good at being self-sufficient and then I got the opportunity to have to ask for help – I couldn’t believe how difficult it was. Why do so many of us wait until we are in great duress before we ask for the support we need. When I coach people I am reminded of how I feel when someone asks me for help. I was so happy that I could be there and provide something that someone needed. It feels so good to be able to do something for someone who asks, and I know that to them, it can feel like such a relief.
Last week,when I hurt my knee moving one-too-many pieces of furniture, I was pretty much incapacitated. I had to learn an old lesson once again. For one, I learned how I have taken my body for granted. It wasn’t until I lost the use of my knee that I learned how much I appreciate having a pain free and functioning leg!
Thank goodness, my friend was right there with her assortment of knee braces and TLC. It felt so good to be nurtured and cared for… and that gave me a whole new level of gratitude that filled my heart. Is this how it feels to everyone? How wonderful that we can find something in our day or week to randomly do for someone. Just think of the ripple of vibration that creates.
What about when you are not incapacitated? Do you ask for the help you need? Go back to the priority list that I wrote to you about last week. Decide if some of these tasks can be outsourced such as hiring a neighborhood teen to mow the lawn or maybe a grocery delivery service to help take the load off. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, you may find that you can actually let go of some of the little chores you are doing by outsourcing so that you can tend to the things that only you can do.
Another critical step is to take the time to strengthen your core awareness through creating lifestyle goals, learning to tune into your wellness of heart, body and soul, and creating daily practices in mindfulness that will serve you for a lifetime. Everything changed in my life once I began taking the steps to align with my heart and soul and tune into the joy that I want to experience everyday, If you want to learn more about programs that support inner balance check out the personal growth section of www.barbarainc.com.
5) Self-care
This should be at the top of the list – but unfortunately, it is at the bottom for most of us. Taking care of ourselves is the only way we can be of any value to others. Our life is a continuous journey of opportunities to grow and expand and it is up to us if we deplete ourselves or instead make a conscious effort to find a way to infill with joy along that path.
Look at your lifestyle habits and practices. Are you kind to yourself? Do you get enough sleep each night? Do you drink plenty of water, and eat balanced, healthy meals throughout the day or do you just keep pushing to get things done? Just doing these three things can make a huge difference as they support the foundation for all the other things that you do… the foundation that is required for you to accomplish anything – is the precious vessel that is you!
Take it from someone who at one point in her life totally lacked work life balance. It wasn’t until I was so burnt out that I realized if I did not bring this balance in to my life that my spirit and most likely my body would die. Everything in our lives has helped us to become who we are, hopefully we learn though our life experiences. One thing I have learned is that we will never feel whole or have that deep sense of inner joy unless we learn to create that wholeness within ourselves.
Our lives are a great gift and that gift is meant to be enjoyed…
