While most people recognize work-life balance is important, it can be elusive.
In a survey of 1,000 people, Balance Bar Co., makers of Balance Bar energy nutrition bars, found while 98 percent of Americans believe achieving and maintaining balance in their life is important, only 14 percent report that they always feel balanced.
Valorie Burton, an Atlanta-based life coach, said people get so busy with work and personal commitments, they often don’t leave enough time for themselves. Going on a vacation — or staycation — and doing nothing can be a nice break from the everyday juggling of responsibilities.
It’s also critical, she said, for people to carve out time on a regular basis to take care of their needs — getting enough sleep, exercising on a regular basis, and taking breaks from technology to have more face-to-face interactions. Burton, author of several books including “Happy Women Live Better” (Harvest House, $12.99), also urges people to not forget about the importance of “playing” — paint a picture, spend an afternoon at the park, take a dance class, stroll around a museum, whatever makes you happy and gives you a break from the busyness of life.
Gabrielle “Gabby” Reece, a worldwide fitness and wellness guru, entrepreneur, wife, and mother of three, who has teamed up with Balance Bar Co., offers the following eight tips to achieve balance in life:
1. Schedule your days to fit your training in. On Sunday evening, take a look at your week and pick your windows to get your exercise in. Treat it like every other appointment you have and don't cancel.
2. Plan out your food. During the week, try to strategize what you are eating for breakfast, lunch and dinner. This will help you avoid spontaneous junk food splurges due to a busy weekday schedule, and will leave you a little wiggle room during the weekend. If you know you get hungry between meals, bring a snack or even a shake you add water to from home.
3. When you are not at work, be away from work. With technology, our work responsibilities now bleed into our personal lives. I appreciate deadlines or important times professionally that you have to be available, but for the most part, we can walk away more than we do.
4. Figure out your priorities and write them down. The small act of re-emphasizing what is important can help you isolate the areas in your life that you really want to put energy into. A lot of the little things that overload us will naturally fall by the wayside.
5. Concentrate on one thing at a time. Studies show that we can accomplish so much more and with less stress when we do one thing at a time. Today's life has us multitasking at a pace that is not reasonable or efficient. I always joke that our cave man brain is trying to handle all this technology.
6. Put everything on one calendar. Work, meetings, parties, softball games, dentist appointments, etc. Put it all in one place so when you are managing your life, you know all of the commitments you have. It is a great way to avoid stacking the schedule too thick, and can give you a sense of relaxation by knowing what is going on.
7. Schedule one thing you look forward to each day. Coffee with a friend or indulging in a harmless guilty pleasure; something that breaks up your day and is just about you being you. Not you the professional, or partner or parent, just you. This cannot only create a fun gap in our day but also help us get more connected to ourselves.
8. Create a system to be successful. It is not about being perfect, it's about creating environments to be successful. Keep missing a workout? Schedule it with a friend so you have to show up. Trying to eat healthier? Then don't buy a bunch of junk food and put it in your house. Feeling tired in the morning? Make a conscious effort to shut off your computer and TV by a set certain time. We need to set ourselves up to be successful with our goals.
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