FAMILY
Lifestyle
INSURANCE INSIGHT Work/Life Balance Putting You Off-Balance? By Dennia Beard, State Farm Insurance
Work/Life balance is something everyone’s trying to understand and achieve. Browse through any careerrelated magazine and you’ll find it plastered all over the pages. In today’s fast-paced workplace, most of us are urged to do more, faster and with even fewer resources. There seems to be more pressure to be successful than ever before. At work, we are celebrated for doing the job of two or even three people. As parents, we are expected to be near perfect, all the while maintaining incredible bodies, spirits and minds. The responsibilities to our families, our
careers, our children’s activities and our community are all competing for the same valuable attention. DO YOU HAVE BALANCE? Is your “to do” list the size of the Empire State Building? Do you feel you are very busy, but not sure you are accomplishing anything? Are you burnt out? Do you feel like you have lost your direction? Friend, I get you. I am not some guru that has figured it out, but I have learned a lot in the last 20 years
of owning my own business, (with two locations 62 miles apart) being a mom to two crazy-busy girls, a wife, a leader to 8 incredible risk advisors, a bible class teacher, a friend, and a community servant. I try to drink enough water, get enough exercise, read enough books…all the things I am “supposed” to do. The list seems to go on and on and it makes my hair hurt to think about it all. Here’s the bottom line: we all have the same 24 hours. Let’s accept responsibility that we all have a say in our balance to live a well-rounded life. Let’s renew and refresh our creative energies on a regular basis so that we can all achieve our highest potential. Here are some of my favorite tips (in order of importance!) 1. Be gentle with yourself. If you start a new habit that soon gets pushed to the side in the chaos of regular life, understand that it’s completely normal. You haven’t failed; you’re just experiencing the same bumps everyone goes through. If the habit is worthwhile, work it back into your schedule. If it isn’t, scratch it. There isn’t enough time for that. 2. Manage yourself, not your time. There is really no such thing as “time management,” but we can manage our activities. Be proactive and realize the
38 • Saline County Lifestyles
