You’ve heard it talked about ALL over the internet these days. It’s ingrained in your head. Work-Life Balance. Such a mainstream buzz term YET we still struggle with it every single day. In our businesses and lives. Our relationships get the brunt of our “busy” schedules and our self-care gets put on the back burner. The struggle with trying to juggle it all just so we can slap on the “Superwomen” name badge. It’s become an epidemic in our modern society.

We strive for balance.

It’s a word that’s commonly thrown around in the health and wellness world. And if you own your own business or are at the beginning of getting it off the ground, you can 100% relate to at least one of these everyday issues. Loneliness, poor health, or lack of boundaries. Been there. Done that. In the middle of adoption, taking care of 4 dogs and working two jobs…I am all too aware of the struggle. So here are my 5 Secrets to Better Balance. These are things I have tried out myself and use all the time. I hope they help you too.

5 Secrets to Better Work-Life Balance

Limit time-wasting activities.

Try this experiment, write down everything you do in a day. 35 minutes checking Instagram, 50 minutes catching up on RHOBH, 20 minutes picking out an outfit for the day. Don’t alter your day to make you look good. Be honest with yourself and where you are spending your time. Take a look at it and I bet you’d be surprised at how many hours are spent on time-wasting activities. Try to cut them out for a week and voila! You will have saved yourself at least an hour of free time that you can dedicate to something more important. 

Incorporate a ritual.

When you work from home your commute is as long as it takes you to walk downstairs to the kitchen to cook dinner. What works for me is to separate my work hours with a beginning and an end. That means setting designated times to sit down at my desk in the morning and close my laptop in the evening. And incorporating some kind of ritual to signify my body and mind that the day is done or getting starting. For me, that looks like working out, showering, and getting dressed in a cute outfit that I’d wear to a laid back work office environment. At the end of the day, I close my laptop and go downstairs to light a candle, turn on some music and change into my comfy clothes. A ritual helps turn off your work mode and helps your body unwind with predictable and concrete actions.

Set an auto-away on your laptop.

This is soooo important. I used to check my emails 5+ times a day. But when I started to record how I was spending my time I found that most of it were browsing my inbox! No no no. So now I have an auto-responder with links to my website or services. And I check my email 2x a day. That’s it. Once in the morning and once in the evening.

Keep healthy snacks available.

Balance and health go hand in hand. When I know that I have a particularly eventful week ahead I stock up on quick snacks to keep me fueled throughout the day. That way I’m not picking up a chocolate donut at 3 pm. I think of all the foods I crave when I’m stuck at my desk; chocolate, ice cream, salty foods. And I swap them with better foods like grain-free granola, cashew yogurt, turkey sticks, sweet potato chips and lots of whole fruits. If you need something to snack on, you can’t choose wrong!

Block out your calendar.

Do this a month ahead. It helps to have important dates written down beforehand. But then when you add those into the next month’s calendar, go in with a black marker and block out one day a week for yourself. I mean scribble and fill the box in so that you can’t write over it and it’s obvious that those days are not to be messed with. Use that one day a week for whatever you choose (but not work). Maybe it’s going to a museum with your hubby or taking the kids to the park. It’s up to you to listen to your gut and decide.

And remember….there is NOONE that has it 100% figured out. You don’t need to get it perfect, you just need to get it started. I’d love to hear which one of these you’re going to use this week and if you’re interested in adding more balance back into your life, click the button below and let’s chat.