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By
Kathleen Barton
Do you feel burdened with too many responsibilities and not
enough time for personal enjoyment? Is so, then you are not alone. According to
Schor, the author of The Overworked American, hours worked have risen 20% and
leisure hours have declined 37% since 1970. With two-career families and
single-parent households on the rise, it’s no wonder we feel overloaded,
overextended, and even overwhelmed. The key to avoiding this is to create
balance in our lives.
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What is Balance??
Balance is managing your various roles,
activities and responsibilities in a way the
results in harmony between your personal and
professional life. This requires that we take
care of ourselves. We all need some private time
– time to do something for ourselves that renews
and refreshes us. For some, this may be golfing
or gardening. For others, this may be painting
or reading. Those who take leisure time are more
effective in their various roles in life. They
are less stressed and experience greater peace
and harmony. How to Achieve
Balance
You can’t do it all! The notion that you can do it all
is a fallacy. Therefore, you need to focus on the most important things.
Achieving balance and harmony involves a three-step process:
1. Determine what’s most important
First determine what is most important to you. Take some
time to think about your priorities. What are the most important things in life?
Make a list. Think of “things” in a broad sense. They could be tangible things
such as a nice house, or intangible, such as a happy family.
2. Prioritize
Review your list of important things. Which are most
critical? Draw an asterisk next to the five most important things. The next step
involves the difficult task of prioritizing your top five in priority order (1
through 5).
3. Determine how to spend your time
Once you determine what’s most important, then determine
how to spend your time based upon your priorities. Most people do not keep their
priorities in mind as they go about their activities each week. Look at your
calendar or schedule for the past week. How did you spend your time? Look at
your top five most important priorities. Are these two aligned? For most people
the answer is “no”. If that’s the case, then you need to make some changes.
Sometimes this means saying “no” to other activities. If you are letting other
less important activities get in the way, then you are not honoring your
priorities.
Where are your priorities and your time out of
alignment? Where do you need to spend more time? Where do you need to spend less
time? Set a goal for yourself. Maybe you’d like to take 2 hours on the weekend
just for you – to do anything you want. Take action and track your progress. By
aligning your time with your priorities, you will experience greater peace,
harmony and balance in your life.
Kathleen Barton is a keynote speaker,
workshop presenter, and coach who heads her own firm,
The Success Connection. She can be reached at
www.the-success-connection.com.
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