The Balancing Act Called Life

When observing my friends, coworkers, or random strangers, and reflecting on myself, I see one common struggle: balancing your lives and time.

What lives are we talking about? Here are a few to consider:

• work life
• home life
• significant other time
• friend(s) time
• social time
• fitness life

The above are the most important to me (in no particular order), and what I attempt to balance  on a daily basis. I work the ‘830-530’ job and put in hours outside the office; I live at home with my Mom, who still enjoys mother/son time; I have a girlfriend who I enjoy spending time with; I have a lot of friends who I try to keep connected to as best I can; I enjoy being a socialite, attending networking events, happy hours, and going out to eat for 18 meals a day; I am also working on my fitness when possible, and am training for Grandma’s Marathon in June.

How the heck can I balance that?

I don’t. I fail each and every day.

I have not been able to find the balance that allows me to get the required eight hours of sleep, work a complete day, fit a workout in, see my girlfriend, see friends, go out and about on the town, and enjoy quality mom/son time. I find it impossible.

If things were balanced equally, I would get just under three and a half hours of each life listed above. Oh, throw in some sleep as well; three and a half hours is enough, right?

One must consider the resources available to do everything they want. Time. Money. Personnel. Desire. First, “no one has the time” (bull). Second, rarely does someone have all the money needed to be the socialite, the crowd pleaser for their friends, family, and significant over. Third, you may not have the network of people that others possess. Fourth, is what you want actually what you want?

Note how I did not list an order of importance above. That brings to light one of the weaknesses I have; I do not prioritize well. Ones list like mine above must be prioritized. When looking at my list, I know two things: what order they should be in, and what order I actually implement in my life; they are significantly different.

If you are going to make a list, you must prioritize what you want to be doing. Then, you must promise yourself to make time for each ‘bucket’. The claim of ‘I am so busy’ or ‘I don’t have the time…’ are excuses. If you want anything bad enough in life, you make it happen somehow. Do this by making time for what is important. Finally, just do it and make it happen.

What tips or roadblocks do you encounter when trying to balance your life? Please share; I am open to any suggestions that will help myself and others out there.

~J

Twitter: @JasonDouglas