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Balancing Life Requires a Plan

You cannot change how much time there is, only how you use it. Each week you have 168 hours, no more, no less. Prioritize the activities you can do then schedule them every week. Literally make and use a weekly chart with half hour divisions. We'd all love to think we can just go with the flow but the reality is that planned time is efficient time.

First, you need to take care of your health so figure out how much time is healthy for you to sleep, you need to eat (and cook) and get exercise. This isn't time you should ever makes cuts in because if your health goes, everything else will go too. You may need to consult with your doctor about what is best for you since every person is different. I discovered that if I work out 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week it solved all my blood pressure fluctuations and subtle changes to our diet made us healthier without adding extra time to preparation.

Many of life's necessities require money. Schedule how much time you work each day including both work hours and commute times. Try to get your job on board with this idea of a firm schedule if you can. Having regular hours greatly increases your ability to balance things. If you have a job which is not this regular you will need to call upon your family to help you remain flexible but keeping everyone in the loop when things change. This means regular updates about work hours and projects and never being foolish enough to "promise" to do anything when there is even a chance of things changing.

Next determine how much time you need to spend to keep your household functioning in a healthy fashion by scheduling housework, shopping, outdoors work, and financial management. See if you can spread these tasks out over the course of the week and get other family members to help. Never pick up someone else's chores because that interferes with your own schedule as well as sending a message that their contribution is not needed. Be realistic about what each person can do. I have allergies so chores that put me into contact with my allergies are out of the question. I have the most experience cooking and the most food intolerances so those chores are mine.

Fourth, figure out how much time you need to spend to keep your relationships healthy. Don't assume they want to spend the same amount of time you do or even that time much be spent one-on-one or doing a particular activity. You will need to determine how each of you feels and displays affection. For my family

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