Ways to balance your personal life and work

WE all know that there is not one single formula that can create a complete balance between our professional and family life. It is a personal decision on how one combines his time for career needs and the needs of our spouse, children, friends and most of all, ourselves.
As I see it, the key is to develop creative solutions as we go along in life. I found that most of us have unique and successful skills and strategies that we use at work every day, such as planning, organizing, communicating, setting limits and delegating. But when it comes to our social life we don’t seem to be doing so well in applying the same skills effectively. So why not try to see how we can apply the same strategies in our day-to-day activities.
The first thing is, knowing how to get people in your life involved. Ask people around you for help even if you don’t really need it. Allow your loved ones to contribute in some of your activities and work together as a team. Learn to ask friends, family, neighbors, and work colleagues for their support. Sharing your life with others well make a lot of difference
Stop feeling guilty all the time. One of the greatest wastes of emotional energy we face when dealing with others is guilt. It causes us to become immobilized in the present because we are either dwelling on the past or worrying about the future. Make logic your main guide to counter-balance the guilt.
Establishing limits and boundaries. The best imaginary line you can ever create to protect yourself is boundaries. They can protect you from other people’s actions. Boundaries allow you to decide what is acceptable or not in other people’s behavior. They assist you in taking charge of your time and personal space.
Don’t be a perfectionist. We lose too much by trying our best not to make mistakes. Learn to accept the shortcomings of others and yourself. Find ways to compromise with people around you. You can still have standards in your life, but leave a place for other people’s standards too.
Create time for yourself. You cannot be a good spouse, parent, and professional without being good to yourself first. In order to give to others we need to give ourselves too. Find ways to relax and relieve your tension and stress.
Be organized. Always think of prioritizing things. Keep a list for things to do and rewrite that list regularly. Use the calendar more often and write unique things to do on special days. But most of all, teach yourself to delegate some of your work.
Be kind to yourself. Forgive yourself when things don’t get done. Try to understand that with people things change at a moment’s notice. Be ready and willing to assume responsibility for any of the work that needs to get done at any time.
Create special relationships with your spouse and children that are not incidental. Set a time for family, and try to spend focused quality time with them. Don’t leave it to chance or social needs but develop a constant ritual you can all look forward to. It will increase the quality of your life tremendously.