The Balancing Act
I’m busy, you’re busy and we all know that it isn’t easy trying to balance life:
Work, study, sport, family, friends, down time.
We are all trying to balance our priorities and do our best to nail every one of them, and that can be tricky!
I’ve had a lot of NETFITTERS ask “Tay, how do you do it all?!”
How do I juggle work, netball, AFLW, social life, family and me time?
Before I get in to it, I want to let you in on a little secret…I am not wonder woman.
I am definitely not perfect and balancing out my life is something I will always be working on as things are constantly changing and evolving around me.
However, That’s the beauty of it!
We have to grow, learn and evolve with life and also accept that some days we won’t be able to nail everything, and that is okay!
So, where do we start?
1. Prioritise
If you have a hectic schedule and a lot going on, it is so important to identify your priorities. I write down what is important to me for the next month: NETFIT, AFLW, Netball, family, friends and my down time on a big piece of paper and under each priority I write down exactly I want to achieve that month. I keep it simple and clear so when I find myself struggling to keep up with my week or I feel out of balance, I refer back to my paper and remind myself of my priorities.
2. Be present
They key to balance is to take one thing at a time and to really be present and in the moment, at NETFIT we call this ‘Chunking’.
It’s all about breaking down the day and focusing on one bit at a time, step by step. I use this method every single day.
If I have a lot going on and I know I have training that afternoon, I can find it really hard to be present and to stop worrying about what’s ahead. This is when I chunk! I break down what my next task is and only focus on that, this might even be something as simple as jumping in the car and driving to my next stop, that is all I have to focus on.
CHUNK IT and be present.
3. It’s okay to say no
The people that know me well will know I struggle with this one, a lot!
I love pleasing others and I can find it hard to say no to things. However, I am slowly getting better at this! Once I have identified my priorities it is easier for me to know if saying yes aligns to my goals, will help me develop my skills OR if I am putting too much time into something that doesn’t reflect this.
It is okay to say no to things that’s that don’t serve your purpose.
Be brave, take a deep breath and reassess your priorities before committing
4. Communicate
Share your priorities to your support system!
It can be really hard trying to meet everyone’s expectations of how much time you should be spending with them, especially when you have a lot on your plate.
One of the best tips I can give is to communicate to those close to you where you are at in your life. There will be times when you just can’t balance everything (exams, big week at work, grand final etc.) and you might have to prioritise one thing a little bit more. The key is to share this with your loved one’s so they understand what is going on in your life.
The most important thing of all is to remember that we need to have FUN!
That is what life is all about and when I start to feel overwhelmed with my schedule, I simply remind myself how lucky I am to live this incredible life!
Tay X