We all know that we should be eating healthy, exercising, and managing stress, but pile these on top of an already busy work schedule and life schedule and it’s a whole lot easier to know what we need to do than it is to actually to do it. Today I’m sharing 5 tips to help you balance out all the tasks that you need to do in your life. Keep in mind that not all these tips will work at all points and times in your life, but hopefully, some of them can help guide you.
Don’t Try To Do Everything At Once
One of the most common things for people to do when they decide they want to make changes in their lives to to try and make all the changes at once. My advice, don’t! Choose one change that you want to start with and implement that. Once you have built confidence with that change and are doing it consistently, try adding another one. When we try to make all these changes at once it’s easy to become overwhelmed very quickly and overwhelm in an already busy life isn’t helpful at all. If you have many things you would like to change try making a list and then every couple of weeks pick one thing off of that list. Yes, this takes more time, but it’s also the easiest way to bring these new habits into your life and hopefully allow you to continue them for a long time to come.
Know That Your Life Ebbs and Flows
Remind yourself often that there are ebbs and flows to life. There will be weeks, months, or even years at a time when you have everything balanced and flowing well and there will be other times when you won’t. You may have busy seasons at work that require more hours from you during that time or maybe you’re in the middle of moving to a new city. Perhaps you are getting married or starting a family. These things will change how much time you have to put into the different areas of your life and that’s okay. Often we need a reminder that it’s okay to adjust and make changes during some of the busy times in our lives and return back to our routines once those changes are past.
Set Non-Negotiables
Although we know that life will ebb and flow that doesn’t mean that we can’t set non-negotiables. Everyone’s non-negotiables will be different, but if there are things that you know you need to do in order to help maintain that balance make sure that during those busiest moments, you are prioritizing those things at a minimum. Maybe this means that you will disconnect from work when you are not there or maybe it’s a 20-minute walk every day. Maybe your non-negotiable is 8 hours of sleep or eating a nutritious breakfast. Take some time to learn what those things are that you know you need to fill your cup up and stick to those at a bare minimum. And no you’re entire list of healthy habits doesn’t have to be non-negotiable. Think about the things that either you know you need for your mental health to be top-notch or the things that give you energy and help you through the day (even on the worst days). Those things can become your non-negotiables. Once you have decided what those things put the boundaries in place you need to make sure that you get those things at a bare minimum. Communicate with your partner, family or employee to ensure those things can be met at all times.
We know that life gets busy, and when you try to throw health behaviours on top sometimes it feels more like a daunting task than one that is actually going to improve your life. Find the things that you need, no matter what, and prioritize those. Your balancing act won’t always look perfect, but it doesn’t need to be, it just needs to keep you healthy and happy, functioning as your optimal self!
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