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1. Schedule your time

An easy way to manage your time is by using activity logs, prioritised to-do lists, and action plans. This way, if you feel that there aren’t enough hours in the day, you can take control of your time by monitoring where it goes. Use rewards and deadlines to help you stay on track. Avoid time wasters like surfing the Web and e-mail.

2. Organize.

Bringing your time into line isn’t just a matter of scheduling. The mechanics of how you operate can be every bit as important. That means organizing most every element to allow as smooth a workflow as possible. Everything should be set up using logical systems so anyone needing anything can find it when they need it. Eliminating clutter and the chaos it causes will give you a gift of 240 to 288 hours every year.

3. Use technology.

Although personal habits and practices can do wonders for time management, don’t overlook technology as yet another weapon to make the most effective use of your workday. For instance, Microsoft Business Contact Manager lets you organize a wide array of customer and product particulars, allowing quick and easy access. “Sticky notes are one of the worst things in the world,” says McGonagle. “You should live by your database. That way, nothing is ever forgotten.”

4. Learn to say ‘no’

If you want to buck the trend towards putting in ‘face time’ and incorporate some real balance into your life, then learn to say ‘no’ to unreasonable demands and leave the office on time without feeling guilty. Saying ‘no’ with respect is not only effective, it feels good, too.

5. Ask for help

There’s nothing worse than feeling stressed and overwhelmed because you’re trying to do everything yourself. Fortunately, letting go and learning to delegate will help you work smarter not harder, and can develop your leadership skills, too. Take baby steps by delegating one task at a time to people you can trust.

6. Be web savvy

When creating a better work-life balance, don’t neglect the convenience of technology. A growing number of companies now offer their services online, making many time-consuming chores a thing of the past. Banking, paying bills, and grocery shopping can all be done electronically, cutting stress and freeing-up valuable time.

7. Look after your health

Constant exposure to stress can lead to exhaustion and burn out. To keep the effects of stress on your health to a minimum, make sure you get enough sleep, eat healthily, and exercise regularly. Relaxation is also a great stress-buster, so make time for your favourite hobby daily.

8. Focus on end results

To keep yourself motivated, it’s important to focus on positive outcomes as much as possible. Action is a natural enemy of procrastination, so consider visualising the extra time you’ll be able to spend with your family to spur you on to reach maximum effectiveness daily

9. Take time out for you

Know when to shut things down. Resist the temptation to let work spill over into your personal life. Instead, keep your personal life for family time alone, and make sure you create clearly designated boundaries for work and personal tasks. Consider ‘unplugging’ regularly from your laptop, email and mobile phone; the minute you leave the office is ideal.

As much as your work and family takes priority in your life, it’s important that you schedule “me time”. Taking just one hour, once a week to do something for yourself can do wonders for your wellbeing — and your relationships and career will benefit too. It doesn’t need to be a visit to a day spa (although that’s a great idea!) — take a novel to the park and enjoy the outdoors, play a round of golf, visit the gym or go for a long, relaxing walk … just make sure you get away from it all and give your mind a chance to wander.

10. Use up your annual leave

Most of us are allowed four weeks or more annual leave a year, but rarely take it. Remember, it’s there for a reason — to provide you with some much needed R&R.

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• Pack the kids lunches, lay out their clothes and get backpacks ready the night before.
• Don’t allow television unless children have finished breakfast and dressed for school
• Decide what you are going to wear the night before don’t be tempted to change your mind, if it looked good last night, it will look good today too!
• Plan to get to work 15 minutes early – plan to have a cup of coffee before you start work. If you are late, you’ll have a buffer
• Think about what issues often arise that make it difficult to get out of the house. If you are always running around looking for a pair of socks – solve the problem by buying socks in bulk so you never run short.

Remember, don’t be tempted to go to bed thinking that you’ll do it all in the morning!

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1. Figure Out What Really Matters to You in Life

Personal coach Laura Berman Fortgang, author of NOW WHAT? 90 Days to a New Life Direction, says getting your priorities clear is the first and most essential step toward achieving a well-balanced life. The important point here is to figure out what you want your priorities to be, not what you think they should be.

“I use an exercise for figuring out what matters most,” Fortgang tells WebMD. She has her clients take a couple days off from work to contemplate the following series of questions:

1. If my life could focus on one thing and one thing only, what would that be?

2. If I could add a second thing, what would that be?

3. A third?

4. A fourth?

5. A fifth?

If you answer thoughtfully and honestly, the result will be a list of your top five priorities. Fortgang says a typical top-five list might include some of the following:

• Children
• Spouse
• Satisfying career
• Community service
• Religion/spirituality
• Health
• Sports
• Art
• Hobbies, such as gardening
• Adventure/travel

Ismael Al-Ramahi, a graduate student at Baylor College of Medicine, says his current priorities are his wife, his 4-month-old son, and his research. He tells WebMD the key is not only knowing your priorities, but devoting your full attention to just one priority at a time. “Split your time and your mind so that you’re thinking about work when you’re at work and you’re paying attention to the baby when you’re with him.”

2. Drop Unnecessary Activities

By making a concrete list of what really matters to you, you may discover you’re devoting too much time to activities that aren’t a priority, and you can adjust your schedule accordingly. Since having a baby, Al-Ramahi says he and his wife have become much more efficient in managing their time — cutting back on television, for example.

If at all possible, Fortgang recommends dropping any commitments and pursuits that don’t make your top-five list, because “unnecessary activities keep you away from the things that matter to you.”

3. Protect Your Private Time

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. “Carve out hours that contribute to yourself and your relationship,” says Stevan Hobfoll, PhD, distinguished professor of psychology at Kent State University, and co-author of Work Won’t Love You Back: The Dual Career Couple’s Survival Guide. Guard this personal time fervently and don’t let work or other distractions intrude. “Stop checking email and cell phones so often,” Hobfoll advises. “Few people are so important that they need their phones on at all times.”

If work consistently interferes with your personal time, Hobfoll recommends discussing some adjustments with your boss. “There’s a mythology in the workplace that more hours means more,” he tells WebMD. Demonstrate that you can deliver the same or better results in fewer hours. Your job performance “should never be judged in terms of hours of input,” Hobfoll says. Protecting your private time often leads to “greater satisfaction in both work life and personal life, greater productivity, and more creativity.”

If you’re your own boss, it’s up to you to create boundaries that keep work from intruding on family time. Lachlan Brown is president of Tech for People, a small business consulting firm specializing in Internet marketing. “I make it very clear at the beginning of any new business relationship that if I work nights and/or weekends then this is purely by choice,” he tells WebMD. “I’ve told clients more than once that if they call me at night or on the weekend that they shouldn’t expect me to a) answer the phone and b) reply until the next business day.”

Brown, who has a 9-month-old daughter, doesn’t see his reluctance to work after hours as compromising his career but quite the opposite. “I believe that if I truly honor the different aspects of my life, such as work, play, and family, I will be more successful and fulfilled in each area. If I skimp on family time or ‘me’ time, then my success in my career will suffer as a result. I look to my daughter to remind me of how to be open-minded and excited and curious about life … key ingredients for innovative, breakthrough thinking. If I don’t spend time with her now, this opportunity will be lost forever.”

4. Accept Help to Balance Your Life

Allow yourself to rely on your partner, family members, or friends — anyone who can watch the kids or run an errand while you focus on other top priorities. “Try tag-teaming,” Hobfoll suggests. “One spouse works out before dinner, one after dinner, while the other watches the kids.”

To get more alone-time with your partner, accept babysitting offers from friends and family, or try arranging a regular trade-off with another couple. “‘I’ll watch your kids this Saturday if you watch mine next Saturday.’ Tag-teaming is a great way to create extra free time,” Hobfoll says.

5. Plan Fun and Relaxation

Fun and relaxation are an essential part of living a well-balanced life. That’s why Brown makes time for weekly guitar lessons, a yoga class, a date night with his wife, and a guys’ night out a couple times a month. In addition, he exercises on a trampoline in his backyard most days of the week. How does he squeeze in all this playtime while running his business and sharing the responsibilities of raising a daughter? “If you believe that the most important thing is to be happy in life (not when I’m a millionaire or when I retire but right now) then you can always make time.”

Until you get into the habit of taking time for yourself, set aside space in your planner for relaxation and fun. Plan what you’re going to do and make any necessary arrangements, such as childcare, to ensure you’ll be able to keep your commitment. “Remember, you make time for what you want to make time for,” Fortgang says. If something is important to you, don’t brush it aside with a dismissive “I don’t have time for that.” You are in charge of your own schedule — it’s up to you to make time.

http://www.webmd.com/balance/guide/5-strategies-for-life-balance?page=2

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