Photo by Hans Splinter from Flickr

What does balance mean to you?

Is it about balancing you as a person? Does it involve the people around you? Or is it about the roles you play in life?

Let me elaborate a bit on what I mean.

Balancing You

Do you strive for your physical, mental, and spiritual health to be in-line? Does having balance mean you get to enjoy some “me time” every now and again?

I think for some people balance means they ensure they take care of themselves properly. For them, it may not matter if the house is not in order or if all their work got done. That’s not what stresses them out. In order to keep themselves from feeling stressed, they make sure to eat well, exercise, and get that time alone that many crave.

Do you see yourself in this group?

Balance through Others

Do you always take care of others? Is it important to you that your kids, spouse, family, parents, etc., are happy and have all they need from you?

There are those that thrive on helping others. They make sure everyone around them has all they need and do so before taking care of themselves. For them, making sure that others are happy, makes them happy. It’s what keeps them going every day and they may even feel stressed if they’re unable to help.

Are you someone that feels balanced when others are taken care of?

Balancing Our Roles

Do you often feel like you’re pulled in many directions? Do you feel that if you had a handle on it all you would feel better?

We play many roles in our daily lives: employees, wives, husbands, parents, sisters, brothers, sons, daughters – the list goes on. Each role requires different levels of work and some are more demanding than others. For some people, being able to balance all the roles and be in control of each is what helps them feel balanced.

Is this you?

I feel I fit into this last category. It does overlap with balancing yourself and taking care of others, of course. But, the key is that if every aspect is “in control” you feel better about things. You don’t really want to sacrifice one for the other and it’s important to you that the house, work, family, others, and yourself are all taken care of. Self normally being last on the list.

Obviously, it’s impossible for all aspects of your life and all the roles you play to be in perfect harmony. I realize this. For me, it’s more about each being stable. I don’t need the house to be perfect (I let go of that a while back), but I like it to be manageable. I know I can’t take care of everyone, but if I can help, I feel better. And, work doesn’t have to be absolutely done at the end of the day, but I need to make progress.

Like I mentioned when I broke down my daily work and home routine, if I can dip a little into each of my roles every day, I feel like I get “…things done and…there was a good balance of things in my day.”

So, again I’ll ask you…what does balance mean to you? What helps you feel like you’ve got a pretty good handle on things? Is it taking care of yourself, others, or a little of everything?

***More resources on work-life balance

Photo by Beth Sobel from Flickr

Today has been a very balanced day for me. I was able to work out this morning, did some client work, responded to a few emails, worked on this blog, and even put a load of laundry to wash. For me, that’s a great balance of taking care of myself, working, managing social media, and house work. It’s not much either – you notice I didn’t say I cleaned the entire house. Nor did I answer all emails. But, it was a good bit of each and I feel good with what I’ve accomplished today.

Of course, this is not an everyday occurrence. But, as I get more and more used to working from home, I find that I’m finding little things I can do to feel more balanced. Even if that means redefining what “balanced” means.

But, don’t take my word for it. Check out what others have to say about work-life balance and read their recommendations.

5 Resources with Tips for Finding or Improving your Work-Life Balance

5 Tips for Better Work-Life Balance from WebMD
Something that stuck out when reading this article was when the author said, “You would probably think twice before skipping out on work, a parent-teacher conference, or a doctor’s appointment. Your private time deserves the same respect.”

In other words, do not rearrange your free time and “squeeze in” something else. Treat it just like any other appointment in your calendar.

Work-life balance: Ways to restore harmony and reduce stress from Mayo Clinic
I loved when I got to the end of this piece and read, “Balance doesn’t mean doing everything.”

A lot of times we think that achieving work-life balance means being able to do it all. In fact, it should be about doing what’s important to you, and all that you’re comfortable doing.

Photo by yesterday_once_more0 704 from Flickr

Basic Steps Toward Work-Life Balance from Forbes
The author in this article talked to a staffing company, whose president, Loretta Penn, said: “You don’t have to respond to every e-mail or voice mail as soon as it comes in. Just because someone else deems something a priority doesn’t mean it’s yours.”

It’s a good reminder, especially for us digital moms that are constantly plugged in; just because an email alert popped up on your phone, it doesn’t mean the email has to be answered within 30 seconds. It can wait.

How to Find the Right Work-Life Balance: 6 Steps from Caroline Middlebrook
This was a blog post written in early 2008 by Caroline Middlebrook, who quit her day job in order to start an online business and now makes money blogging. In it she said, “If I’ve not spent enough time with family or not called a friend for a while I’ll get that nagging feeling in the back of my mind…When your life is all in balance you’ll feel good and when something isn’t right you’ll feel bad in some way.”

I know that from time to time I’ll get such a feeling and find myself reassessing the situation and even asking my husband for input. Many times, he confirms that I’ve been off in one area and concentrating too much on another. As the author suggests, trust your instincts.

Top 10 Ways to Balance Life and Work from About.com
This article is geared towards dads, but offers tips that are good for anyone. Tips such as: “Sometimes, the things that suffer in our busy lives have to do with our own personal health…Managing your personal health is essential to balancing work and life.”

I think all parents know about putting your own health last. This too, serves as a good reminder.

What personal tips or suggestions do you have for maintaining a little balance in your life? What have you found works for you?

Check out more work-life balance resources I’ve saved on delicious.