Recently my company had a seminar for the employees on how to balance work and home life.  I know a lot of us have issues sometimes in balancing our lives.  I will share some of the points that were touched in this seminar in a few blog posts instead of a big super one:

1. List all activities and responsibilities you are dealing with at home and at work.

2. Now look at all these activities and see how much of your time is spent on each.

3. Separate them in how you are doing it, and how you actually want to do it.

4. Learn skills for effectively managing multiple demands.

In achieving balance, one should reframe negative self-talk.  The language you use to describe your feelings and situations has a powerful impact on your stress level.  Words like “should”, “ought”, “must”, “always” and “never” are absolute and can lock you into a mindset that has a harmful impact on your self-esteem and relationships.  Here are some unproductive statements that have been transformed into productive ones.

 Unproductive Self Talk

• “My life is crazy.  It’s out of control.”
• “I should be spending more time with my kids.”

Productive Self Talk

• “Things are really hectic right now.  But I know I can cope.  I’ve done it before.”
• “I want to spend more time with my kids. I’m going to cancel my Wednesday night appointment.”

At Home

Call a family meeting and allow family members to chose the chores they want to do rather than assigning them.

Use star charts or other incentive systems with younger children and allowances with older children.

When tasks are not completed, leave them undone if possible and let natural consequences occur.

Lower your standards.  Strive for neat, rather than sparkling clean.

Use the “ten minute” system.  Give everyone tem minutes to how much straightening and cleaning they can get done.  Make it into a race and set the timer.

Plan your cleaning projects at “low impact” times of the day.  For example, it would probably take less time to clean a kitchen floor at 10:00 pm that at 5:00 pm.

And if all else fails, hire a cleaning service!