BlogHer - The Juice - Share your work/life balance tips for a chance to win an iPod Shuffle and the book "Getting to 50/50"! - Comments

Life Balance

cbd901 — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 09:35:45 -0500

Before putting my house up for sale, I felt like I never had time to clean the house the way I wanted to and keep it that way. I struggle every day to find me time. I work 40hrs a week, do all of the household chores (inside) and have a 10yr old daughter who loves my attention. I found that setting aside time with the hubby on Sundays to do meal planning, budgeting, cleaning lists (assigning work to everyone) and then grocery shopping together as a family helps not all hubby and I to be closer, the house cleaner, etc. but is a valuable lesson for my daughter who will grow up understanding the importance of compromise, planning and budgeting.

Wow, what a lot of excellent tips!

Crabby McSlacker — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 05:27:08 -0500

Love the creative ways everyone has found to set limits, and ask for help, and get more organized!

pray and make lists and pray again.

mommytt — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 21:32:40 -0500

The first thing to do would be pray...about your day and how it should go. Then make lists...lots of lists. If you write it down you are less likely to forget it. Then pray again. That always helps me!

Balancing Act

Pam525 — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 20:51:33 -0500

I don't think there's ever a true 50/50 balance, I think you have to learn to adjust and readjust every single day, sometimes a couple times a day. As far as keeping things in perspective I find that I personally really need some downtime, whether it's taking 15 minutes to read a froo-froo romance or even zone out with some tv or even better time checking my fave blogs! I function better, happier, when I take a break which of course makes everything run smoother in my household.

Dinnertime

ajhirst — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 17:49:12 -0500

My other tip is for when we have family dinners 3-4 nights a week. After dinner is play time until my son needs to go to bed. One parent will do the bath while the other does the book. We both pitch in and clean up the kitchen. It makes the time go faster!

Balance

ajhirst — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 17:47:36 -0500

It can be a challenge when I get home from work with my 15 month old. I prepare his meal the night before if my husband is working so that I can feed him and then we can go outside for a walk before he needs to go to bed. We have a playground just around the corner that he loves. Once we come home it's bath, storytime and bed. I'm really enjoying this now that the sun has come out here in New England!

List of Priorities

Nicole_N — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 12:23:35 -0500

To help me keep a balance between all the things in my life I keep a list of things I value and goals associated with those values in the front of my "to do" binder. Looking at it often helps me to evaluate why I am spending my time on certain things. If I cannot figure out what value it is upholding or what goal it is helping me to achieve I don't do it. On the flip side, it helps me to be motivated to do some of those less than fun tasks like filing or cleaning my bathroom because they contribute to values and goals of mine like having a peaceful environment.

YMCA

theindy4 — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 10:42:38 -0500

My DH works full time, I work PT and we have 2 children. It's hard! Especially since we are both trying to take time to work out. The Baxter YMCA helps us out. We can put our children in child watch and go sweat. We know they are being cared for and entertained. This is huge for me. We both work so that we don't have to use childcare. This allows us (virtually) guilt free work out time. And OK, if I have to get my kids up and moving so I can work out early I have been known to offer them bribes to go with me. My DH and I feel so much better now that we are exercising regularly and our kids see the value we place on it as an added bonus. An iPod would be an excellent tool for both of us. Thanks.

Life/work balance

arwen555 — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 00:57:11 -0500

One thing that works well for me is to limit the days I clean to one or two days during the week. That means I clean like mad on those days, but the rest of the week I only do "maintenance" (dishes, laundry, picking up).

Lately I've been doing some

farhatm — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 10:05:42 -0500

Lately I've been doing some freezer meals, making a weekly menu plan and making a shopping list. I know it sounds little, but those two things have saved me SO MUCH time...not having to worry about what I'm going to cook when I get home from work and running around worried that I don't have the ingredients are now a thing of the past!

Work/life balance. 2Things

SupplyChick — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 07:41:46 -0500

#1 LISTS. Lists are my savior. The only way I can balance a full time job,a hubby, two kids, a household, and numerous projects and committees is using LISTS. Lists are my brain.

I have "this week" To Do lists and "today" To Do (usually in the same sheet. I list the pressing "today" items on the left, and the not-so-pressing "this week" ones on the right. It doesn't have to be fancy either. I've been known to write on the backside of a #10 business envelope! (recycle-reuse!). It's very enpowering to cross things off the list and if I find myself with some spare minutes, I can look at the "this week" things and see if I can knock any of those off and get "ahead of the game" a bit.

#2. Me time. I wake at the beastly hour of 5 a.m just so I can focus on projects, do research, blog, exercise and just gather my thoughts. Could I use more sleep? Probably. But for now I guard my "me time" like a pit bull because in the end it makes me a better ME.

Do Less and Slow Down

klin — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 00:03:16 -0500

For our family, doing less helps us keep a balance. We work to keep life simple and basic and to only do things that are really important things for us... the things that bring joy into our lives and offer us the opportunity for growth and development.

This helps us to put our full energy into what we are doing, whether that is working or spending time together or reading. I try, without total success, not to multi-task but to slow down and enjoy the things I am doing in my life. Even laundry can be enjoyable when I slow down.

Work/Life Balance

denisegee — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 23:03:58 -0500

I go on a walk first thing in the morning to make sure I get it in. I usually go with a friend or two and we walk and talk for our "therapy".

My husband and I give each

clairejwebb@yahoo.com — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 21:51:43 -0500

My husband and I give each other time to pursue individual interests. I like to run and sing in the church choir and he likes to play pick-up basketball and watch sports. This give us an "outlet" outside of work and home obligations. It actually brings us closer together. We also share a love of travel and spending time with friends and family. All household duties are shared so that we can maximize our time doing other things we love. We definitely work hard, play hard!

Silly Saturdays

Org Junkie — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 21:45:24 -0500

I love that idea for Saturday, what a great way for you all to recharge your batteries.

The Juice - Share your work/life balance tips for a chance to win an iPod Shuffle and the book "Getting to 50/50"!

Blake Norman — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 12:51:10 -0500

UPDATE: July 6, 2009 This promotion has now ended. A winner will be selected shortly. For more great offers from Trop 50 and The Juice, check out the group home page.

We all have our own strategies of shuffling our busy lives and maintaining balance!

Share your tips on work/life balance in the comments section below for a chance to win a new 4Gb iPod shuffle and a copy of "Getting to 50/50: How Working Couples Can Have it All by Sharing it All".

You get Apple's smallest shuffle yet, which can hold up to 1,000 songs and multiple playlists, plus Meers and Strober's insightful book on the modern family unit. That's a $100 value!

This sweepstakes runs from June 22, 2009 to July 5, 2009 and is only open to individuals who, at the time of entry deadline, are legal residents of the United States and are 18 years or older; one entry per person and per email address. Please be sure that your email address is up-to-date in your BlogHer profile so that we can contact you if you win! Click here to read the official rules.

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Now, share your tips on work/life balance in the comments section below for a chance to win a new 4Gb iPod shuffle and a copy of "Getting to 50/50: How Working Couples Can Have it All by Sharing it All".