5 Tips to Restore Balance in Busy Lives

5 Tips to Restore Balance in Busy Lives

Do you feel as though there are never enough hours in the day... that you get to the end of the week and wonder where the days have gone? Do you spend all your days running around, never seeming to have time to sit down... yet you get to the end of the evening and have difficulty working out what you have achieved? Do you start each day with good intentions, making lists of jobs to do... and still find that you have loads of things outstanding at the end of the day?

When we lead busy lives, trying to juggle work, families and keeping house, making time for ourselves falls even further down the list... after all, if we don’t feel we have time for all the things we HAVE to do, there is no chance of having time for the things we WANT to do... is there?

And of course, the more we struggle with those never ending lists, squeezing more and more into our days, the more tired we get, as our energy reserves run low. We are tired at the end of the day, yet sleep becomes difficult, or in some cases impossible, because we just can’t seem to switch off... and so when we get up the next day, we are beginning the day already tired and so the cycle begins again.

In order to bring yourself and your life back to a point of balance, you could try the following:

Keeping a family diary or calendar. Make sure there is enough space on each page to write down what you have to do. Add in your appointments, the kids’ sleepovers, when the library books need to be returned as well as school trips and family birthdays. Don’t agree to take anything else on until you know that there really is space in your diary for it.

Making shorter lists – long lists are daunting, and when we get to the end of the day without having crossed everything off, we feel a failure, knowing that we are starting tomorrow with half of today’s list as well as tomorrow’s list! Limit you list to just 6 or 7 items. Keep each item realistic.... "Paint the kitchen" may be on your list, but if it is accompanied by "clear the loft", "dig the garden", "take the car for a service" and "get the children to ballet, gym, scouts and piano lessons", it becomes daunting, and almost bound to fail.

Stop working by 9pm – If you work until bedtime, your body and mind have no time to wind down, and sleep becomes of poor quality. Set yourself a time limit that allows you an hour or two before your bedtime to start the "relax and switch off" process.

Don’t be afraid to say 'NO'. Very often we take on tasks simply because we don’t want to offend, or we don’t want to appear inadequate or unable. It is OK to say "No, I’m sorry, I don’t have time to do that for you today", or "No, sorry, that doesn’t really appeal to me". Don’t clutter up your precious time with jobs you don’t need to take on, and don’t use up your precious energy getting worked up about things that you have taken on that you wish you hadn’t.

Make a few moments for yourself – although it would be nice to have a day to yourself, or even just a free afternoon, we all know that is usually impractical. But just 20 or 30 minutes can make all the difference to the mind/body/life balance. Go for a walk, take a soak in the bath in the middle of the day, do some classic yoga stretches, or listen to a guided imagery recording to reduce those stress levels and provide you with the energy you need to make the most of your day.

Of course different things work for different people, and you may find that some of these suggestions work better for you than others. Introduce one of the above into your day at a time, and let it become a habit before introducing the next one. Enjoy taking control and reclaiming your time, and your energy.