By Sanjana Antony  

There are many aspects in life that you have to keep balanced in order to achieve total or overall health, security, and happiness. You need to improve each and every aspect to give your self a chance for growth and development. It is not very easy to achieve a balanced life but with enough determination and knowledge about how to do it, it is not impossible. 

One of the most important area or aspect of a person’s life is the body. You have to make sure that you will keep your body healthy and strong to be able to do and perform all of your duties and responsibilities. Eat a proper diet and keep your body fit by doing regular exercise or going to the gym. Aside from keeping the body healthy, these could also make you look more attractive. Feeling and looking beautiful will also contribute to the personal aspect of your life. 

The personal aspect includes your emotions, feelings, and the way you think about certain things. It is advisable to always maintain a positive outlook in life. Your mind is a very powerful organ as it could control your feelings and emotions. Don’t let negative feelings such as insecurity, self pity, sadness, and disappointment get the best of you. Thinking positive and being optimistic will do wonders. They will also help you achieve contentment in life that will eventually turn into happiness. 

There are other aspects of life that also contribute to a person’s total happiness and one of these is the financial aspect. Though it is true that money and material things should not be the focus of your attention, the fact still remains that this is very important in order for a person to survive in this world. Save money by keeping a part of your regular income or invest in something that could really return your investments. This will help give you a sense of security, peace of mind, and will prevent any financial troubles in the future. 

Although your present job could give you a steady source of income, it doesn’t mean that it’s the perfect job for you. It is also important that you like what you are doing because this will lessen or reduce the stress level that you get and will give you the motivation to improve your work performance. If you want to expand your knowledge, skills, and abilities, you could take additional education or personality development program which is another aspect of life and life is a continuous learning process. 

You should also have some time to improve your social life. Go out with your friends or spend some quality time with your family. This will somehow give you the feeling that you are being loved and that there are lost of people who love you and will always be there to support you. The spiritual aspect of your life is also important especially if you feel that you need some guidance or enlightenment during tough and hard situations. 

After a long time of hard work, it is advisable to take a break and reward your self with something that could make you relax and relieve you from stress, tension, and pressure from work. You can try out new sports or start a new hobby that will match your interests. It could be any kind of fun activities that you can do by yourself or with friends and family. A balanced life can do many great things that will make you completely healthy and happy.

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By Ronnie Nijmeh

There are very few aspects in life that require as much balance as juggling the nine to five work schedule plus your relationship, kids, home, and personal lives. Whether you are single, married with children, or married without children each of these situations has their own individual challenges when it comes to balancing the work-life load. Utilizing work-life balance affirmations will help you to master the demands of the work environment while still maintaining a healthy “play” life.

The Single Life
If you’re single, you may be making the erroneous conclusion that work is the definition of your life achievements. The argument for this conclusion is that you live alone, therefore there is no one to appreciate whether you make your bed in the morning, or pick up your dirty clothes. So, you may define your own worth in how successful you are in the work environment. This translates into long hours at the office, with your “play” time consisting of making contacts at after-hour business socials.

There is considerable wisdom in the old adage “All work and no play makes Jack – or Jill – a dull boy” (or girl, of course). We all must balance both our work and their play life with positive work-life balance affirmations. For example: “I enjoy spending quality time with myself apart from work.” or “My job reflects that I am an intelligent, passionate person.” or “I choose to invest time in the things I like to do.”

Married without Children
A working couple with no children may lead to many nights such as the following: A king size bed with two very intense individuals, each with a laptop and a myriad of paperwork scattered next to them, and one of the many late night shows playing in the background. These individuals need positive work-life balance affirmations in order for them not to lose focus on each other, nor themselves. For example: “I appreciate the fact that my spouse and I both have careers.” or “I appreciate the time we have as a family and I actively seek out more time for just us.” or “I am enriched by both my work and my play.”

Married with Children
Finally, there is the challenge of balancing work with a family with children. It is a balance of not only work and the life of the family; but also balancing their own personal time in the mix. Their positive work-life balance affirmations might be as follows: “I choose to set work aside and spend time with my family free from thoughts of work.” or “I cherish the quiet moments with the love of my life.” or “I appreciate the opportunity to be with my loving family.” or “I love spending my time off playing with my children.”

A list of positive affirmations to help you achieve your goal for work-life balance is below:

Ronnie Nijmeh is an accomplished author, speaker and coach. He is the president and founder of ACQYR.com, a inspirational resource where you can download free wallpapers (http://www.acqyr.com/Wallpapers/), read powerful affirmations, inspirational articles and much more. Learn more about ACQYR’s free affirmations (http://www.acqyr.com/Positive_Affirmations/).
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By Olena Gill

Do you feel stressed or overwhelmed in your life? Are you juggling many balls in the air, with many external demands on your time and energy? Do you feel burned out? Is your life out of control? If you answered yes to at least one of these questions, there’s a good chance that there is a need to examine and balance the priorities in your life.

Balance – now that’s easier said than done, especially in this fast-paced mode of living that most of us are in. Yet we crave that balance desperately. So just how do we create the work-life balance? Well, let’s try a simple exercise.

1. Think of your life as a wheel. On a sheet of paper draw a circle. You are in the center. Every area and aspect of your life is represented by a spoke, each which extend as a line radiating from that center. Name those areas – they can be any category in your life – e.g. relationships, finances, health, job or career, security, personal development, recreation, energy, family and friends.

2. Go around the wheel and rate each spoke from 1 to 10 (with 1 being low and 10 being great) based on how you feel at this moment about that particular area in your life.

3. Mark each spoke with a dot representing your rating, with 10 at the outer edge of the circle and 1 close to the center.

4. Now connect all the dots and take a close at the picture that emerges. How does your Wheel of Life actually look?

The first step to creating the balance is to ascertain which areas are lacking. Your completed picture will show you on which areas you focus versus those that are being neglected.

The second step is deciding what actions you could take towards strengthening those areas in need of attention. For example, if you rated yourself low on the Recreation aspect, what could you do to infuse more play-time and fun into your life? Perhaps it will involve scheduling non-negotiable time for yourself, for example, 30 minutes twice a week. Or perhaps it’s about taking a walk, or planning an outing with your children or friends – time devoted solely to fun and enjoyment.

Finally, it’s all a matter of applying your actions. The steps need not be huge. But just like your car’s gas tank, your inner energy reserve needs to be replenished. If it becomes depleted, you won’t function as well, and may burn out. Balancing your life provides this replenishment.

So, go ahead and implement the changes in your life. Seek support from others around you. And the result? A more balanced and effective you.

Olena Gill is a life and business coach and owner of Indigo-Crystal Coaching Services in Errington, BC. She assists people in re-balancing in both personal and business envioronments and is the author of several forthcoming books on personal development. You may contact her at http://www.indigocrystalcoach.com.
Copyright 2005
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By John Parks

Most people understand how difficult it can be to balance their work and home lives once they get married and have children. Somehow it seems that work life or home life is always encroaching on the other and causing problems at work, at home, and many times both. However the following five tips are great options to help with balancing work and home.

Make a Schedule
The best thing to do when trying to balance work and home is to make a schedule. Know how much time you have and schedule your work time and your home time. Then, you will know when you need to schedule work and home events. This will make your life significantly easier and you will know which activities fit into which time frame. Just make sure you stick to your schedule.

Share Responsibilities
Many times work and home responsibilities can become overwhelming because one spouse is handling more of the responsibilities than the other. So, learn to share responsibilities at home and each spouse can be responsible for their work. Also, older children should have some home responsibilities as well to help parents balance work and home.

Leave Work at Work
Balancing home and work can be difficult because it is so easy to take work home. If you really want to balance work and home then you will always leave work at work and keep home a sacred place for family and home activities.

Dedicate Weekends to Home Activities
A great way to keep home and work separate is to always focus on home activities during weekends, or at least on days off from work if you happen to work on weekends. When certain days are home days and other days are work days then it makes balancing work and home considerably easier.

Plan
The best way to balance work and home is to always make a plan. There are tons of tips that will help you, but there is nothing like making a plan and then following the plan to really balance work and home. It might be difficult, but if you have it planned out and follow the plan you will be surprised how easy you can find a balance.

SearchArticles.net features thousands of how-to articles and tips on working from home. For more work from home tips, visit http://www.searcharticles.net
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By Lee Down

A workaholic is someone who has no identity beyond their work. Life is about so much more than what you do. It is about the relationships you develop and nurture. It is about social impact in your community. It is about the growth and learning you experience. It is about living passionately.

We are creative by our very nature, it’s in our genes. Applied intelligence equals creativity. Intelligence takes on many forms. So this creates a new question:
Where is your definition of a workaholic more likely? One living in passion or one living in isolation and fear?

The True Entrepreneur is one that I witness their values, passion, and whole way of being aligned with what they do. In this way, the entrepreneur is just being. The business, the vocation, the passion, the purpose, the values, interests, etc. are all a part of who the individual is.

Externally, I don’t think anyone could casually observe a difference between a workaholic and this entrepreneur. However, the individual knows. Deep down inside, the answer is known and typically the individual will turn away from acknowledging that truth and rationalize sticking to their tried and true behavior. The tried and true is comfortable. To admit the truth requires change and change is uncomfortable.

Many people welcome change in their external environment and consider themselves capable and open to change. Unfortunately, for most the relationship to the inner self is one of fear; there’s a whole can of worms that gets opened when we start doing the inner work. Knowing this, on a gut level, our subconscious quickly reverts to the tried and true. It’s hard work to change.

The good news though, is that many entrepreneurs have the ability to see what is happening around them. This ability is what makes entrepreneurs visionary go-getters. However, this does not exempt entrepreneurs from getting caught-up in their business to the detriment of a well-balanced life.

A well-balanced life is more powerful than the hard work that you put into a business. A well-balanced life feeds the brain, the spirit, the emotions, and the body. In creating the space for relationship, recreation, and rest, the benefits experienced will offer stronger focus, greater creativity (beneficial for problem-solving and decision-making), greater self-esteem, and mental/emotional/physical health. Knowing this, choices are made.

If incorporating a well-balanced life would allow you to achieve the same amount of output in 60 hours versus the 80 hours of perseverance, which would you choose?

The other thing entrepreneurs have difficulty with is learning when to say, “No.” and when to say, “That’s enough.” Always after a new conquest, a new experience, a new peak, and new challenges, an entrepreneur can get all that energy too caught up in the business arena. This will lead to the very thing you fear. Instead, split this energy to have a well-balanced life. Achievement will be far richer in the relationship arena and the personal growth arena.

The experience of Life can be incredibly rich, just don’t get so caught up in riches that you neglect your Whole Life.

Lee Down is a professionally trained Coach committed to the awakening and development of the human spirit. One Man Can (http://www.onemancan.ca/) wants to inspire and empower your life, your relationships, and your world.
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Anth Quinn

Do you need to put off the things you enjoy in order to fit around the needs of others? Are you a busy parent? Do you have people who are relying on you, are you in a demanding job, working long hours to make ends meets? If so you’re not alone. I hear similar stories every week; “I’d love to (go back to school, go for a weekend away, find a relationship etc.) but I have to fit around other commitments.”

If this is you, my guess is that you’ll be surprised to find out that you need new glasses!

That’s right; you need new glasses because you are suffering from short sightedness when it comes to time.

What you need is a “looking glass” into the future – you might know it better as a calendar!

If I were to ask you to pull out YOUR calendar right now – how far ahead would you have scheduled the things that YOU want to do? I’m not talking your kid’s football fixtures, parents’ birthdays, society functions or any of the other things that are arranged for you. I’m talking about things that you want to do for YOU!

These other things are organised for you and may well be really important, the thing you may have missed is they also provide a clue as to how you can do more of what you want too.

If you have a lot of commitments and don’t have a calendar with things you want to do planned out into the future, I’d almost guarantee you’re dancing to someone else’s tune.

The answer to fitting in time to pursue your own dreams, hobbies and passions when your life is full of other commitments is to plan them way ahead of time.

For example if you would love a weekend away with your partner and you’re struggling to find time; throw it out in the future. Pick a weekend 6 months in the future and book it in as a fixed commitment and see what happens.

Your mind will naturally start to arrange your other priorities around this “fixed” commitment and as the time approaches you’ll find that other people just seem to fit in around your date.

6 months will pass before you know it and you can enjoy that weekend happy in the knowledge that you’ve already got another planned.

Beginning to stretch out your plans and thinking more strategically really is one of the core skills to fitting in your dreams while still meeting your daily commitments.

I’m not saying this is always easy; I still occasionally find myself going into weekends with no plan and reacting to other people’s plans. Not planning was fine when I was single and spending all my time climbing with a group of others with no commitments, for years we decided last minute and went anywhere. But as I got older, got married, got a responsible job and then began my own business, this became much tougher and it took me a while to learn the power of what I’m sharing today. If you too are struggling to fit your goals and dreams in around your other commitments then give this a go – you’ll be glad you did.

I’ve said it a lot before and I’m going to say it again now. If you don’t have your own plan then you’ll be living someone else’s plan and chances are they haven’t got much planned for you.

The question you I’d ask you now are:
Is living someone else’s plan OK with you?
If not grab your calendar and get planning!

Can you see how you’ll apply this? Do you think I’m talking rubbish or sense? Does all of this sit with you? Will you give it a go?

Anth.

Anth Quinn has been described as the best-kept secret in Personal Development; he is a straight talking champion of everyday people and despite developing a loyal following of over 10,000 readers he managed to avoid publicity.

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Kristen Lee Costa

Have you ever heard the expression “life is what happens when you are busy making plans”? Time passes ever-so-quickly, regardless of whether you are having fun or not. 2008 happens to be a leap year, granting each of us an “extra” day to carry out our lives. Most of us are likely to respond to the question “how are you doing?” by using the word “busy”. Try your own human behavior experiment over the next week and tally up the number of times you hear this yourself. Guaranteed survey says “busy” as the number one answer. The wild pace of our lives, which my Dad always calls “the rat race” leaves us unlikely to shift down and actually think (a novel concept, I know…) This makes our sense of time rather fraotic (my word for frazzled & chaotic) and limits the quality of our lives and relationships. My Mom lamented the other day “How has life gotten like this?”

Here are some questions to help you take inventory on how you are spending your time:

1. What would you do with an extra hour in your day if you had it?
2. How do you plan to divvy up the extra 24 hours you have been granted this year?
3. What things are you engaging in that reflect your values and personal mission?
4. What are the things and who are the people that drain your energy?
5. What can I cross off my calendar right now?

A healthy schedule should consist of time to be alone, and also time with those you love to be with. There is a lot of hype about quality time, these days. I believe it should not be an “either/or situation” (quality or quantity), but an “and” situation (quality and quantity). Let me explain: you need to spend a good quantity of time in order for it to lead to quality time moments. Quality time cannot be forced, although it often is. This can turn good intentions into frustration almost instantly. Don’t expect to carve out small slots of time to spend with your family or yourself and dub it as “quality” time. You may become disappointed if those windows of time do not deliver pure quality and measure up to the expectations you have set.

One practical thing I have done is to look ahead and write down the word “HOME” on my personal calendar a couple of times a month, as if it were a scheduled appointment. This is uncompromised, so regardless of what invitations come up, I have committed a relatively large stretch of time to spend at home doing accomplishing the important task of just being. Maybe you have noticed lately your pace has gone up, and the quality of your life has gone down. Perhaps you even feel as though you haven’t made today count. Now is your chance to start making wiser choices about how you spend your time and energy. Designating time to pursue “want to” instead of “have to” things is a step in the right direction. Time will pass one way or another, so make a point to slow down and enjoy moments.

Kristen Lee Costa, LICSW is the founder of Helping Helpers, dedicated to providing life-changing resources for professional and personal development. Visit http://www.helpinghelpers.com for access to innovative tools for therapists, teachers, nurses and those in helping professions. Kristen provides a clinical blog, called “Kristen’s clog” with everyday stress management guidance.

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Sharon K Davis

Sometimes as working mothers we can feel a little overwhelmed. We have families to care for, a house to take care of, a business to run, as well as finding the time to take care of ourselves. One of the most common questions I’m asked is, “How do you do it all?”

Most of the time it’s because I follow a system and use good time management skills. As business moms we need to develop a system for both business and family – one that can eventually run on autopilot so we can focus on the task at hand.

For example, I was able to cut down on work time by implementing just a few simple strategies:

I know. We see the phrase “make time” and think, “Where? There are only 24 hours in a day? Where do I find the extra time?” But I promise you, the time is there if you just implement, and stick to, a system.

One key is to set priorities. You have to realize that some things either don’t NEED to be done or can be delegated to others. Let go of those things. You have more important things to do. Make a list of your top 5-10 things that absolutely must be done today. Put them in order of importance. Begin, and do not waver from your assigned tasks.

Another thing I have done is to include my daughter in my business. One of my businesses is a candle business. My daughter loves candles and tells everyone she knows about them. She works with me at craft fairs and farmers markets, she helps me put together information packets, she passes out fliers. It makes her feel important and grown up to work with mommy. When possible, include your family in your business.

Don’t allow yourself to be weighed down by stress and overload. Set up a system that works for you. Focus on what is important, set goals, and try to include your family in your work whenever possible. You’d be surprised how much your kids like to “work”.

Traveling this journey with you…

Sharon K Davis is a network marketer specializing in training and sales. For a free report that will show you step-by-step how to grow your business visit http://www.MLMMarketingExperts.com/intro You can also view her business web site at http://www.LexiaCandleScents.com.

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Donna-Marie Coggins

Anyone in small business knows that effective time management is crucial in successfully balancing work and personal time. But sometimes it seems the hours go by… your day is nearly over and you have not yet done half of what you had planned for the day. Then we see some people who seem to achieve so much and still have time for themselves. What’s the difference? After all, no matter who we are or what we do, we all have exactly the same amount of time in each day… we all have the same 24 hours as every other person.

To find extra time in your day, first keep a journal of how you spend your time for two to three days. Include everything, even time on the telephone, watching television and reading. Next use that journal to identify your greatest time-wasters, and then decide where you can eliminate or limit them. I know this may seem like it’s taking up even more of your valuable time, but just try it — you may be surprised by the results.

Some handy time management ideas include:

The trick to finding extra time each day is to work smart, not hard. Be organized and have everything well planned, and you will find that you have more time to spare.

Donna-Marie Coggins is an author and business owner, providing writing, editing and business planning and start-up support. For tips and resources on running a small business and your free guide to free and low-cost publicity, go to http://www.YourSmallBizExpert.com

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By Stephanie Foster

There are few times of year more demanding than the holiday season. Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza, winter solstice or something else, there’s just so much to get done. Presents to buy, relatives to visit, the house to decorate… plus everything else that you have to get done normally.

One major stressor for many families is balancing your time as a family and visiting with relatives. This can be especially difficult if you have a lot of relatives in town and no one can agree to a calmer schedule.

However, agreeing to a more reasonable amount of visiting between families can make a huge difference in your holiday stress. Figuring out the best way to manage these things isn’t always easy, and a solution for one family may not be a solution for another.

One simple thing to do is instead of going from house to house to house, agree to meeting times at a particular house or two. Rotate whose home you use or agree on one particular place, whichever works for you. Hopefully this will be more fun for everyone.

You can also consider spreading things out a little. Don’t try to see everyone in one day. In my family there have been times where we’ve celebrated Christmas on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and even New Year’s Eve or Day for out of town relatives.

Make sure you carve a little time out for your immediate family, especially if you have kids. You can have your special time be first thing in the morning, in the middle of the day or even at the end as a way for the kids to wind down before bedtime.

Some relatives may try to make you feel guilty about not going with their preferences. This can be a problem, and is why you need to come up with a plan that works for you. If you bring in the relatives involved in the changes you want to make you have a better chance of making things work, and some of them may be relieved at the idea of simplifying things. Others may not be.

In the rush to do everything your extended family wants you to do, it’s easy to lose track of the meaning of the holiday you’re celebrating. Taking a step back and looking at what really matters and ways to make the holiday season more fun for all concerned.

Stephanie Foster offers a free newsletter for stay at home parents. She also offers more parenting tips at http://www.homewiththekids.com/family/

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