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BALANCE.
What a precariously precious quality balance is. Literally and figuratively.
Literally, I am absolutely average at balancing myself. I mastered the Pogo stick while growing up and can walk across a balance beam alright. However, I did manage to sprain my wrist skateboarding back in High School. It's really just a matter of give and take with me.
Figuratively, I struggle with finding balance in my life. Especially during the summer time. I realize the importance of developing and strengthening relationships, making time for family, and just plain hanging out and having fun with friends. However, time invested exclusively in myself is just as important and is often neglected quite badly when the sun is shining and slurpee runs and bonfires abound. I need to take the time to exercise. I need to spend time studying my scriptures. I need "me time". Now here's the question. How in the world do I find the balance between these two areas of my life?
I think it's accurate to say that I have yet to experience the sort of equilibrium I want in these two areas. And that scares me. Because doesn't it just get harder when I get older? Harder when I have a job, a husband, a family of my own, bigger church callings, and so on? If I can't balance my life between these two areas, how in the world will I be able to balance all these future areas later in my life?!
Please help me. I don't care who you are or if you even know me. I want you to let me know your tricks or secrets to living a more balanced life. How do you balance between work and play? How do you make sure you accomplish what needs to be done and what you want to do? Is writing a "To Do List" for every day of your life how you keep things balanced? Is getting up early every day the answer? Then let me know that. I'm begging you to comment on this blog post. Literally begging. Who knows, your little insight could possibly solve this problem entirely and people all over the world will rejoice at the solution to living a balanced life. Every comment counts. Count yourself in. Please.
And thank you.
Well I'm definitely not entirely balanced in my own life but I find setting deadlines for myself sure helps with accomplishing things. And by living with me you should know that I get up at 7:00 or 8:00 every morning haha. Oh and you should also know by now that I am a huge procrastinator. Setting a day to hang out with family sure helps. Good luck on your quest for BALANCE!!!
ReplyDeleteKristen,
ReplyDeleteHere are some great ways to find time for yourself:
evenings with yourself. sometimes scheduling an evening just for you and a book, or you and a good tear-jerker is all you need. even if it takes actually scheduling that time in a calendar for yourself to make sure you stay committed to it! write it in pen! not pencil ;).
don't work late. this is something i've struggled with since graduation. i love to work so much i stay late over and over again, and then realize that i have had no "me" time by the end of the week!
if you find you have a lot of "waiting time" in your life... eg. waiting for appointments, waiting to start a shift, being on break... change your mind-set. bring along a book and change "wait time" to "me time". it's all about attitude :)
try sneaking away and having lunch all on your own at a park bench or picnic table!
one thing that i have learned in the past year or so that has helped me tremendously was to "unplug". i used to take my ipod running, to the gym, to school, listen to it when i was studying etc. then one day i had an epiphany and realized that if i simply "unplugged" myself from the constant flow of other people's thoughts and let myself think. it has changed my life. i study more efficiently, pay more attention to my surroundings and my imagination has grown! i would suggest this to anyone!
hope this helps you find some "me" time. :)
love,
Alyssa
not so good at this myself. But here are a few suggestions...
ReplyDeleteI find that I can get more out of a day when I do productive things when I would have been just wasting time - ie. reading the BOM on the bus instead of listening to music or staring off into space...
If I find I'm really busy with work (photoshopping) I'll put aside a set amount of hours for that. When that's through I make sure I do more important things, like spending time with my husband.
And if there is something that I really want to accomplish, I make sure to have someone else hold me accountable for it. It's easy to let yourself down, but not so easy to let someone else down.
And that's my two bits. Not much but maybe it will help : )
Not that I'm going to help you here, cause my life is not balanced at all. I require too much ME time, and take it...selfishly! So that's my advice, be selfish..sometimes. It's ok to do sometimes! Not as much as I do, but some.
ReplyDeleteBut mostly just play in the summer, you only get like a month of it anyways...;). (ha, worst advice giver ever)
PS, is that the Lucille with vertigo from Arrested Development in that one picture?? I hope so, cause that is awesome!
kristin my dear cousin! oh how i love your words.
ReplyDeletemy simple advice is, make your top priorities in the summer, or busy season, try to keep at it, and most importantly expect to fail. know that there is not one person on this earth that has a completely balanced life, or even a near balanced life.
the times you do remember, and do those things you want/need to do, then great. do it well. other than that, just enjoy every thing else you have on your splendid plate. and never ever think about what you "could or should" be doing. it's all part of the experience.
hope this helps:). sure miss you!
De-junk your life! You'll be amazed at how much time you have left over for yourself! Not that I'm a pro at this but every sunday I decide one main thing I'm going to work out and keep my mind on it. I find that I end up having time to accomplish that. If me-time needs to be your thing for the week, you'll find your given the opportunity for it.
ReplyDeletekristen i meant to comment on this before but didnt know if i should since my advice is very basic and i am sure you already thought of it...but i remember feeling like this. and the only thing that i found that would work for me is if i woke up early before i had to go to work. this was like 6 or even before 6 some days. even if it meant i would only get 4 hours of sleep i sucked it up and would wake up early because having a fun summer was pointless for me if i couldnt stick to my personal goals. i also found that every night i would have to write down the days events in my journal because i was usually so tired i couldnt remember what i did two nights ago.
ReplyDeletegood luck! have a fun summer up in waterton!
1. i love the last point that Readytofly made- unplug. technology and the media, if used more than necessary, are such a distraction and you don't have time to ponder and process.
ReplyDelete2. get to know yourself. i'm only 23 but i find it gets easier the older i get. the more you know yourself, the more you know your capabilities, your boundaries and you're more confident. you may get busier but that just means more learning experiences for you to get to know you. if you let it be that way.
3. this one depends on your personality but, don't sweat the small stuff. balance doesn't mean checking everything off your to do list and making sure you accomplished something in each area of your life. to me, balance means feeling at peace with yourself. this happens when all your needs are being met: physical, emotional, spiritual and mental. if one area needs more attention than the others, let it have it. but don't go too far with that and lose self-control. there's a balance within that principle haha. but like i said, when you know yourself, you'll know what you need.
4. positivity. it's easy to feel "un-balanced" when we're swamped with things to do and work and school and so on. but if we see all these things as a blessing and a joy they become things we want to do rather than things that detain us from what we really want to be doing.