Please welcome our guest writer, Jessica Swanda, from TLX Technologies in Pewaukee, with 4 tips for finding balance in a busy life. 

Finding Balance in a Busy Life

Parents are busier than ever these days. Balancing work deadlines, kids’ sports schedules, PTA
meetings, and grocery pick-ups feels like a job all on its own.

Do you ever feel like you can’t keep up with your to-do list? Or do you feel like you’re juggling
too many things at once? Here are four effective ways to make your days feel more
manageable and help you accomplish your most important tasks.

Make Smaller To-do Lists

Nothing will slow your momentum quite like an overwhelming list of 20 things you HAVE to do
that day. A huge list is discouraging and can keep you from ever starting. Instead, pick two or
three must-do’s for the day. These tasks go beyond the necessary routines you already do each
day, such as picking up your kids from school or cooking dinner. They could include things like
making important phone calls, going to a doctor’s appointment, or placing a grocery order.

Once you’ve completed those few additional tasks, you can spend any extra time on whatever
you like. You may decide to keep the momentum going and finish a couple extra things too! But
as long as your top two or three priorities are finished, you can feel good about your day and
know you accomplished the most important things you needed to.

Use this idea to make all the areas of your life more manageable. Pick two or three things a day
that you need to accomplish for your job, for your family, to prepare for a trip, etc.

Prepare Ahead of Time

What parts of your day are the most hectic? The morning chaos, the dinner rush, or the
bathtime and bedtime routines? Identity which hours of the day are most overwhelming and
figure out what you can do to prepare for them ahead of time.

Can you choose everyone’s breakfast items and outfits the night before? Can you prep all your
veggies at the beginning of the week to cut down on dinner prep each night? Can you set out all
the bathtime/bedtime items you’ll need before starting the process to make it go more
smoothly?

And better yet, which tasks can you delegate to your family members to get everyone involved
in sharing the load?

Adjust Priorities to Your Season of Life

Your time and energy are limited so they need to go towards what matters the most in your
current phase of life. What areas of your life deserve the most attention right now? What can
you do well in the amount of time you have?

These focal points will shift over time. Your priorities may change from one week to the next,
such as when a child or elderly parent gets sick. Other seasons of life can last for much
longer—months or even years. One stage of life may be focused on a highly busy season at
work, while another is focused on family time, and yet another is focused on major home
renovations or travel.

Your priorities, your time management, and your yes’s and no’s all need to reflect the season of
life you’re in now.

One way to think through this is to ask yourself this question.

What are my non-negotiable “yes’s” right now? What do I need to say “no” to so I can give my
“yes’s” my full attention?

Delegate Where You Can

It cannot always be up to you to get everything done! If there’s too much on your plate, delegate
what you can and ask for help where you need it. Find capable people at work who can help
you meet your deadline by handling some of your other tasks for the week. Get together with
everyone who lives with you and ask them to each claim one household task as their
responsibility. Include your kids as you do housework and assign them their own chores once
they’re ready. To young kids, helping you do routine household chores is just another form of
play!

Sometimes, you’ll have to train others to do the things you’re already doing. But taking the time
to teach them now will save you time and stress later.
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By implementing these four methods, you can start balancing your schedule and giving the most
important parts of your life the attention they deserve. The more you work on these areas, the
more you’ll find the patterns and rhythms that work for you and your family.

You may still be busy, but you don’t have to feel overwhelmed and overworked! Instead, you
can walk through your full days purposefully and peacefully.

TLX Technologies is a local employer in the Lake Country area that prioritizes a healthy work-
life balance for our employees. We are always looking for people to join our team who appreciate this kind of culture and enjoy working on exciting and challenging projects for some of the most respected brands in the world. Sound like you?

See our current job openings here.