Women are the world’s best multi-taskers. From writing a blog post and cooking dinner simultaneously, to working out while playing with a little one at the same time, we are the real MVPs. We are friends, career women, mothers, students, bloggers, fitness gurus, wives, aunts, business owners, daughters, chefs, and a variety of other things. Although we have the ability to wear a ton of different hats and multitask to ensure that everything (and everyone) gets attention, sometimes the multiple roles we play can be overwhelming. We are human, and it’s only natural that when we are stretched in a million and one different directions, some aspects of our lives, whether it is our marriages, our businesses, our friendships, our mental health, or our physical health, begin to suffer. It’s crucial that you establish a sense of balance as a busy wife. Finding a sense of balance between our home lives, our work, and our personal health is key in order to ensure that we are at our best and can give our best in everything that we do.
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines balance as “the state of having your weight spread equally so that you do not fall.” This definition in itself describes the importance of establishing balance because without it, you will fall and the aspects of your life that don’t receive the time and attention that they deserve will pay the price. In our busy lives, it can be difficult to make time for everything. Even as master multi-taskers, sometimes we miss a workout due to our responsibilities at work or burn dinner because we get a phone call that we have to take. Finding balance as a busy wife is the key to ensuring that we can continue to have healthy relationships, excel in our careers, and be at our best mentally, physically, and emotionally.
My Quest for Balance as a Busy Wife
I began my personal journey at finding balance last summer. When I started my blog, LiveLifeWell, last May, things went from 0 to100 almost overnight and something that I started as a hobby began taking up a lot of my time. I’m also a wife, a graduate student, a friend, a sister, an aunt and the mother of a pup named Nas, and I noticed pretty quickly that my blog was taking precedent and that other areas of my life were beginning to suffer. I began missing my morning workouts because I was staying up so late writing blog posts. My grades began to suffer because I was spending the time that I should have been studying promoting LiveLifeWell. My husband complained that I was always glued to my laptop or on social media – even during the time that we agreed we would spend together. It became apparent to me early on that if I wanted to be successful and also maintain my physical and mental health and my relationship, I was going to have to find a balance between all of the things that I am so passionate about.
While I am always a work in progress and do still have days when one aspect of my life gets way more attention than all the others, I have been able to find a sense of balance between the many things that I do and you can too. At its core, balance is about time management and it is possible to be a student, a blogger, and a wife while still making time for your physical and mental health. Here are the things that have helped me to establish a sense of balance in my busy life that will help you to find balance as well:
4 Tips for Finding Balance as a Busy Wife
Plan Ahead
“Failure to plan is planning to fail” and it’s important that we give some thought to what we have going on each day, week, and month in order to organize and make the most out of our time. I plan my outfits and weekly menus and make a to-do list, not only for each day, but also for each week. Making a weekly to-do list allows me to see which areas of my life are super busy in a given week. If I know that I have a lot going on for school on Tuesday and likely won’t have time to do much for my blog, I know that I need to give my blog a little more attention on Wednesday. If I know that Tuesday and Wednesday are really busy for me, I can make sure to make time for a date night with my hubby on Thursday. I created the More than a Wifey Planner to help busy wives organize the many facets of their lives. It includes pages designed to enable you to set monthly goals, organize and prioritize your to-do lists, plan your outfits and weekly menus, stay on task during your busy days, and reflect on your accomplishments. The weekly tasks page is broken into 4 categories (For the Hubby, For the Household, For the Business, and For Yourself) so that you can see which areas are busiest in a given week and adjust accordingly as you plan your days. Planning ahead has worked wonders for my life and has helped me to establish balance and make time for all the things that are important for me.
Prioritize
All the planning in the world won’t change the fact that there are only 24 hours in a day and 7 days in a week. We have to prioritize to ensure that we meet deadlines and stay on top of things that absolutely must get done in a given day. Prioritizing also helps me to determine what things can wait until tomorrow. I always write my daily to-do list in order from most important to least important. In the evenings when it’s time for me to put away my study materials and close my laptop to spend time with my husband, I make sure that the top items on my to-do lists are finished and bump the lower items to later in the week. There’s no harm in saving tasks for the next day, or even the next week, to make time for your relationship or for yourself. The More than a Wifey Planner includes a daily schedule page that’s specifically designed to help you prioritize. It includes 2 to-do list sections: one for things that you “must do today” and another for things you can “save for tomorrow.”
Make “Me Time” Non-Negotiable
Making time for yourself should always be a priority. I know that this is easier said than done, but trust me, if you don’t make time for your physical and mental health, you won’t be at your best and if you’re not at your best, there’s no way you can successfully juggle the other aspects of your life. Always make time to do something that’s for you and you alone, whether that’s working out, reading a chapter of the book that you’re reading for pleasure, or doing a little online shopping in the middle of your afternoon. I found that when I started to make my workouts a non-negotiable priority, all the other parts of my life improved and began to fall into place. Taking that hour each day to focus on myself set the tone for the rest of my day, improved my mood, and increased my self-confidence.
Ask for Help
In my personal quest for balance, this was the hardest thing for me to realize. As women, we are so reluctant to ask for help when we need it. We get so accustomed to multitasking and handling the many aspects of our lives on our own that we forget to utilize our resources and ask for help when necessary. There is absolutely no shame in asking for assistance. Ask a friend or family member to watch the kids so that you can get a workout in with no distractions. Hire a virtual assistant during your upcoming vacation so that you can enjoy one-on-one time with your significant other without worrying about the other things that you have going on. Getting help with small tasks frees up more time that you can spend focusing on larger tasks, spending time with your family, or taking some much deserved time for yourself. Although at first it was difficult for me to admit that I couldn’t do it all alone, when I asked for just a little bit of help, I realized that I’m not a one woman army. We all have a plethora of resources around us that we can utilize to lighten our loads and ensure that we have time and energy to give to the things that really matter.
Finding balance doesn’t happen over night, but, with time, if you plan ahead, prioritize, make time for yourself, and ask for help when necessary, you can juggle all of your many passions and responsibilities as a busy wife and live the wifestyle of your dreams. The More than a Wifey Planner is designed to help you stay organized and find balance as a busy wife. When I set out to find the perfect planner to help me stay on top of all my responsibilities, I couldn’t find anything that was right for my lifestyle. I created my own to-do lists with sections for things I need to do each day for myself, my husband, my home, and my blog. With other wives in mind, I also created versions of the to-do list with sections for career women and moms. Pick the version of the More then a Wifey To-Do List that works best for you and your busy wifestyle and download your free copy here.
What are your tips for finding a sense of balance?
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