Finding balance in our lives can be a difficult task. We have so many things that pull at us and many feel of equal worth. Then we have those things which do not measure up to our main priorities yet take up a large portion of our time. It is when that happens that our lives feel out of whack. Our families are our main priority and certainly should come before business yet business takes up a significant portion of our time. For most the driving forces behind our businesses is providing for family and achieving personal goals. Both are worthy yet wrapped into business it is easy to feel consumed by our professional lives and allow it to overshadow our personal lives. How do we maintain the proper balance?
There is no easy answer to achieving balance. It is an ongoing fight in my own life. I had to sit down and simplify my schedule by defining my goals and how they would fit into the roles I have in my life. As a wife and mother I have significant responsibilities. As a homeschooler to four children I have an added hat that comes with a significant amount of work. I had to fit that all into my goals for my writing and my business. I am only one person so unless I could clone myself something was going to suffer. I should say something would continue to suffer.
My main priority is being who God wants me to be and to honor all He has given me. To do that I had to find a working balance, let go of control, and develop a schedule that would simplify my life. The reason I stayed home was to educate my children so I could not allow anything to get in the way of that. The reason I was able to stay home was because of my husband so I had to honor my marriage. I chose to write because it is a passion of mine in addition to needing to generate another income stream. So, here is my day. I do not claim to follow it exactly nor do I claim it is perfect. It simply is where I am right now. You will notice that I did not give exact times sine flexibility is key in my home.
Morning: I get dressed, clean up the bathroom, throw in a load of laundry, make breakfast, grab my coffee, answer emails and check in on my Facebook page. Then school gets started for the day.
Afternoon: Lunch is prepared by me or my oldest child then while the kids eat I work. I will eat my desk and get some writing done. The kids have an hour lunch and an hour of independent reading and play. That gives me two hours to work. We then finish up school. I prepare dinner and we all do a final clean up for the day.
Evening: We have dinner, family time, and soon it is time to get the two younger ones ready for bed.
Night: Once everyone is in bed, I get back online to finish up my writing for the day and update my blog. Then finally I get to bed.
It’s a start. Spend time thinking of your own balance for a productive 2012.