Creating and Maintaining Balance for Busy Mums
The number one thing when creating and maintaining balance is to take time out and take a very hard look at what is going on in your life and what is causing your life to have no balance.
Too many people do not want to face the fact that they could be the cause of their life being out of balance, because it is too scary, embarrassing to acknowledge that they are the ones causing this.
Do not punish yourself if this is the case, because you could be doing this without really realising it, or, you may not realise there is a solution.
The very first step is to make sure you have a diary, journal and note pad to work out what is going on.
What to do with the diary:
Write in your diary exactly what you do during the day, including times. This may seem excessive but you do really need to see what is going on. Let me give you an example, you wake at 6:00am. You mark in your diary 6 – 6:30 shower. 6:30 -7:00 pack lunches, 7:00 get breakfast ready..
If you do this for one week you will start to pick up where you are wasting time, where someone is taking up all your time, where you could be more organised, where you could ask for some help.
When doing this, please be aware that there are no excuses being brought into this. This picture is fact, what is happening in the moment. if you are not truthful you will not be able to have a very clear picture of what you need to do to maintain balance.
What to do with your Note pad:
Ask yourself, ‘what does balance mean to me?’ (and list these in your Note pad)
Is it?
Exercise
Read a book
Date with partner
Free time without children
Not taking work home
Meditating
A night out with girlfriends
Having a facial
Having a massage
Require more sleep
Talking to someone (professional) about your out of balance life
Talk to your partner about not having balance in your life
Require less stress
Ask a friend or family member what they think you need to do
Cut back on your working hours
Change jobs
Own up to the fact you love your job and want to work long hours
Once you have your picture of times and what is done/achieved in those times and what balance means to you, can you slot in anything from the list of ‘what balance means to you” in any times you can see where you can fit something in?
If you have been able to fit something in, what do you need to do to make this happen? (Note pad)
Is it:
Require a babysitter
Book an appointment for a massage
Go to the gym
Hire a cleaner
Be confident in saying ‘No, I am not taking work home’
Put action items in your diary and commit
If you choose not to do something about your balance, you will become regretful of others, start blaming others, become bitter, start to cause relationship problems. When it gets to this stage, it may be time to book in to see a professional who will support on your journey of improving your life balance
What to do with the Journal?
As you are going along doing these exercises, jot down your thoughts, both positive and negative because you need to be aware of your excuses/blockages. This is where you have a major breakthrough and start picking up what is really stopping this work/life balance for you.
When you have a break through, or as I say, when you have a ‘light bulb’ moment, congratulate yourself, give yourself a gift as this is huge.
Another part of journaling is for you to become aware of your ‘emotions’. Emotions are a huge factor in our lives. It is very, very important to be aware of your ‘negative emotions’. These negative emotions can do so much damage and can stop you from having your balance.
If your work/life balance disappears go back to these exercises. This is where you will pick up an old habit which really needs to be removed. EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) is great for this and I recommend that you always see a trained EFT practitioner.
Article by Denise Neville, EFT Practitioner and Success Coach. Visit www.tranzform.com.au for more information.
