Spiritual

Balancing your spiritual well being is the most vital thing. If your soul is unhealthy, your body will be too. I was at a funeral last week. That gave me time to reflect on what is truly important in life. Not only that, but we sang the well-known song “It is well with my soul”. The song goes like this…

When peace like a river attends my way
when sorrow like sea billows roll
whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say
it is well, it is well with my soul.

Is it truly well with your soul? Can you have peace in the dark moments of life? Take time out of the busyness of life to connect with God. To have a quiet time, times of peace. Connect with nature. Go to church. Pray in your garden. Pray while you are walking or running.

Ensure you are eating right and that you do take care of yourself. Exercise regularly. You cannot give out if you don’t care for yourself properly. Make sure you get enough rest or sleep. I will even go so far as to say pamper yourself.

Family

Do not live a life of regrets and wish you had more time to spend with your family. Make time! Be intentional. At the end of the day, what is important to you? Most of us won’t actually say wealth or status! We will say, God or Family. Now I dare you to build your life around that! Make decisions that are going to benefit you to achieve that goal. Make sure you also spend quality time with friends. Friends get you through the difficult days in life!

How do you balance your family life?

The answer is simple! Learn to say NO! You do not need to attend every child’s party. Your children may need extra murals, but they do not have to do every extramural on the list. All these things and tasks that keep you busy, steal your family time and steal a part of your soul. They all seem good in themselves, but it’s wise to just choose a couple, not every single one!

Prioritise meal times. Eat dinner together around the dinner table, this is a great way of catching up. Involve your children in the mealtime routine, many hands make light work. Or if it is just you and your husband take turns to cook or cook together. My husband and I do this regularly, we put on our 80s music playlist and dance while we cook (and fight a bit as well about how I’m cutting the onions wrong – but it is all a part of the fun).

We are really busy, but we make the most of the time we have got together. The other night all the kids were out so we had a night swim and cocktails by the pool having deep discussions about life.

“You will never feel truly satisfied by work until you are satisfied by life.”
―Heather Schuck, The Working Mom Manifesto

Work

Not everyone has the privilege of working in the area or field they love. Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart. We all have to work in order to live. When at work, do your job well, but when at home, leave the work behind as much as you can or set hours that you work if you have to work at home. Then the rest of the time learnt to turn off the devices, the emails. Switch off and unplug.

Tips for balancing work:

1. Set goals and prioritise tasks.

2. Take your lunch break or if you work for yourself, make sure you do stop and
eat.

3. Make use of technology, there are great apps you can use to help you plan
your day or keep a schedule. Even accounting apps or invoice apps!

4. Take leave!!!

”When you have balance in your life, work becomes an entirely different experience. There is a passion that moves you to a whole new level of fulfilment and gratitude, and that’s when you can do your best… for yourself and for others.”
Cara Delevingne

Finally, Let go of perfectionism. Know that you are not going to get the balance 100% right all the time and don’t be hard on yourself. Start with little changes and just start by making good decisions. Where your treasure is, your heart will be also. Reach out and take hold of that freedom that is yours.