The Secret to Managing Everything: Work-Life Balance 101

Great tips in this post on work-life balance. Thanks for sharing!
How to manage everything

Managing Everything - girl typing on laptop with coffee and fruit

Good old, Monday morning. Nothing like a 5am wake-up to have a perfect start to the week. You’re out of bed early, make yourself a cup of coffee, and get a feel-good workout in, all before the sun rises. You pack your delicious and nutritious lunch, kiss your significant other good-bye, and you’re off to work. Life’s good isn’t it? Except for the fact that it’s NEVER ACTUALLY LIKE THAT!!!

If you’re reading this post, chances are, you’re trying real mother effing hard to balance everything. Maybe you’re a college student trying to balance your tinder game with finals, a new grad figuring out whether you should still be partying on Thursday nights, or a young mama trying to understand how on earth you’re going to get a shower in before writing 3 new posts for your mommy blog this week — all whilst breastfeeding. Whatever stage or age you’re at in life – you’ve come to the right place. Truth is, the world of “girl, you can do it all! #girlboss #bossbabe #iamlifegoals” is far too glamorized. Things are NOT as easy as the world of social media makes it out to be. The work-life balance game is a struggle, but fear not – you can do it!

MANAGING EVERYTHING: The Precursor to it all

manage everything - work life balance

Before we get into things, let’s get to a few house-keeping items:

  1. For the purposes of this article – “work”, refers to what your work is. Whether you’re a nurse, working corporate life 9-5, a new mom, or a freshman in college, you define what work means to you.
  2. Let’s think of this as a live self development session hosted by Oprah (jk – but a girl can dream, right?!). Every so often I’ll flag a *Think About It* note. Take some time to reflect on your day-to-day and how that point relates to you.
  3. Excuse the occasional but well-placed swear words. You know how sometimes when you write a sentence, it feels like something’s missing? Often, it’s the unexpected-but-so-expected curse word that just makes that line way more f*cking effective. (I know you know exactly what I mean). Don’t fret – it’s for dramatization purposes only.

So, you want to learn how you can balance everything, and do it all, right? Well, behind the magic formula lies two major factors that can’t be missed:

  1. Time Management, and
  2. Priority (and / or) Priorities 

But, before you start reading, check out this short video on why you need the 1-minute productivity rule in your life. 

MANAGING EVERYTHING: Manage your time, with time management

managing everything - free time

First things first, if you want to manage everything, you best believe you better thoughtfully manage the scarcest resource you have. Your time. We all have 24 hours in a day. Within those 24 hours, our work, or “committed” responsibilities will differ from person to person. i.e. Person A might be working 2 jobs, and a 15-hour day, and Person B, might be a college student with 4 hours of class, 3 hours of group work, and 2 hours of assignments. Your first step is to understand how much “committed” time you have, versus how much “free time” you have.

Just a disclaimer, it’s SO important to take some time reflecting on what your committed time entails.

*Think about it*Are you intentionally committing that time to something you’re striving to achieve because it’s what you want? Or are you literally wasting your scarcest resource on something that brings you no value?

Once you’ve determined what your free time is, write down how many hours in a day you actually have.

MANAGING EVERYTHING: So…what are your priorities?

managing everything - prioritize

The notion of “managing everything” will differ based on who you are and what you want. I may think of managing everything as: working full-time, spending time with loved ones, doing my hair and make-up, and living a healthy lifestyle. Someone else may think of managing everything as keeping a tidy and clean home, socializing with friends, and getting 8 hours sleep.

There’s no doubt that there should be some core universal priorities to live a balanced and healthy life – i.e. eating healthy and having an active lifestyle, taking care of your mental health, getting adequate sleep (at least 7+ hours) and spending time with loved ones.

The rest, may be more subjective.

*Think about it* Reflect on what your top 3-5 priorities (or single priority) is. What do you want to incorporate in your life day-to-day? What are your long term goals?

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MANAGING EVERYTHING: Back to time management

managing everything - make plans

By now, you’ve got a list of priorities, and roughly how much free time you have per day. It may sound a bit too scientific, but allocate how much time you want to spend on each priority a day / week and make a rough schedule. You’ll need to juggle with times to make it all fit. So whether that means less sleep or shortening your workout to get some extra time in for your side hustle, you have to put some structure around it.

Things don’t always go to plan – and you have to be so conscious and aware of that. A flexible mindset is key, but create a plan that works for you. Be ready to pivot as things come up, but part of managing everything and / or achieving your goals requires you to put some plan on paper. Manage your time effectively, efficiently, and smartly, and it won’t take long before you’re able to balance it all. Being productive is so key to managing everything.

MANAGING EVERYTHING: A day in my life

managing everything - a day in my life

And to make things more real, I want to give you a little insight into my attempt at managing everything.

I work a full-time job at a corporate financial services firm, Monday-Friday 9-5. Including the commute, my committed time is roughly 50 hours a week, or 10 hours a day during the work week. Beyond work, I’ve got a ton of other hobbies, goals, and interests – aka priorities – that take up my free time. My top priorities in no particular order are: eating healthy (3x a day plus snacks), going to the gym at least 4-5 times a week, creating stellar content (shameless plug) on The WERK LIFE, spending time with loved ones, learning / developing, and keeping a tidy *enough* household. #whoaisme – am I right???

Sounds like a lot, but truth is – it’s not as hard as it may seem. Though it’s taken me a while (and I’m still working at it) to balance it all, I’ve got some aspects down to a science. I have ALWAYS been someone that sleeps in late, until a few years ago. Nowadays, I try to be up at least 3 hours before my work day begins, just to get some personal time in. 

A typical day may look like this:

  • 5:30 – 6:30am – up and at ’em
  • 6:30 – 7:00am – still waking up, aka catching up on emails, a brief social media check, what’s happening in the world, and breakfast + tea time
  • 7:00 – 8:00am – Get ready, and off to work
  • 8:00 – 8:30am – Commute – listen to music or a podcast
  • 8:30 – 5:00pm – At work
  • 5:00 – 5:30pm – Commute home – listen to music or a podcast
  • 5:30 – 7:00pm – Gym Life
  • 7:00 – 8:00pm – Dinner & chill with fiance / loved ones
  • 8:00 – 9:30pm – The WERK LIFE 
  • 9:30 – 10:00pm – Clean / tidy up and get ready for bed
  • 10:00pm – Bedtime, baby!

MANAGING EVERYTHING: Make it happen, girl!

managing everything - make it happen

A quick disclaimer: the reason I’m able to manage most things on a good day, is because I spend my Sunday’s getting me FULLY PREPARED for the week ahead. This saves me a ton of time (thanks to meal prep, planning, and more) – and makes for a much easier week. Definitely check out how I make the most of my Sunday’s here!

All that being said, I find a way to fit in my main priorities with thoughtful planning ahead of time, and doing “the best that I can”. For example – I would LOVE a world where I could spend 2+ hours at the gym everyday. Getting my weight training in, spending 30 mins stretching, and more. Reality is – that’s just not doable. I have to do what I can in that specific time frame (i.e. a quick and efficient workout), or other priorities will get bumped. You have to know when to stop and start, and that’s key to managing everything.

Another example – I love having a clean home, but there’s nooo way I could do an intense deep clean every single day. Vacuuming, mopping, and more are usually left for the weekends, but I’ll always ensure the dishes are done and the counter is clean before I go to bed each night. To me, waking up to a clean home is literally the best way to wake up.

We have to make due with the time we have, and there’s no better way to manage everything than having fun at the same time. Be sure to take care of yourself and your mental health by giving yourself a break every so often. If anyone can do it, it’s you. Time for you to MAKE IT HAPPEN!

And there you have it! Leave a comment below to share your tips on how you manage everything! Happy balancing 🙂

managing everything - pinterest

 

19 Comments

  1. Anonymous
    May 6, 2019 / 6:13 am

    Good read.

  2. Camille
    May 11, 2019 / 10:46 pm

    I really enjoyed this post. I’m so bad at wasting my time. I’ve really buckled down these past two months and wow what a difference making a schedule does for my use of time. Thanks for sharing!

    • May 13, 2019 / 9:43 am

      Hey Camille! So glad you enjoyed this post. Totally agree – scheduling makes the world of a difference!! 🙂

  3. June 10, 2019 / 3:13 pm

    Like the article a lot about managing it all. Very relatable. I think of this a lot.

    • June 24, 2019 / 7:15 pm

      Thanks Kelly! So glad you found it helpful! 🙂

  4. Ark
    June 30, 2019 / 11:22 pm

    Out of all the time management articles I’ve read, yours was most relatable. Never thought of breaking down how many hours my priorities would take in a day. Thanks for that. It was great to see something new <3

    • August 27, 2019 / 9:23 pm

      Thanks Ark! So glad you found the article helpful! 🙂

  5. October 2, 2019 / 1:15 pm

    I’ve gotten really efficient at telling my fiance that it’s time for me to study. We live together, and he’d rather sit on the couch talking all evening than letting me do my thing. Sweet, but so not gonna help me get my dreams in order. So, I had to learn how to end conversations with friends and family efficiently so I could do my things too.

    • October 9, 2019 / 6:05 am

      Hey Grace! Definitely agree that setting expectations is another big part of balancing everything. I’m sure telling your fiance straight up made it easier for him to understand where you’re coming from as well when it comes to achieving your goals. If you haven’t had a read yet – check out our article on how to really achieve your goals this year. Thanks for sharing!

  6. Pam
    October 13, 2019 / 9:41 am

    Fantastic and practical post. Thanks so much!

    • October 15, 2019 / 7:25 am

      Glad you liked it, Pam! 🙂

  7. Jessica
    October 25, 2019 / 7:38 am

    I was talking to my therapist about this recently. I know I put so much pressure on myself (and I’m sure others do the same) to look great, eat well, keep a clean home, and be social and I’m tough on myself when I fall short of that. But you’re right- it’s never easy to balance all of those. My therapist actually recommended something similar to your article. Figure out what makes YOU feel good and happy and prioritize those things. If you hate vacuuming, maybe you don’t need to do it every day. If you love listening to music, find a way to incorporate that into your day. Good and insightful read!

    • October 30, 2019 / 6:01 am

      Thanks for sharing, Jessica! I hope you’ve been able to find more of the things that make you happy in your day!! 🙂

  8. Tonjanae Watson
    December 23, 2019 / 5:51 pm

    Thanks for this! I really needed some structure back in my life since graduating college. It’s like I just threw my organization and time management out the window once I started working. Recognizing and acknowledging my priorities and what’s important to me will definitely help to me focus and make better decisions on what I do with my time. Thanks!

    • January 2, 2020 / 9:24 pm

      Hi Tonjanae! Thanks so much for sharing and so glad you found it helpful! The transition from college to full-time work can be tough. We’re here to help! 🙂

  9. March 3, 2020 / 9:10 pm

    This is super helpful. I just got my first real job (a 9-5 social media managing job for a small real estate agency!) and am currently scheduling how I want to spend my time, now that I’m not working 6 days a week. I finally have a chance to block out some time to start up my art freelancing. Thank you for this, I will probably go mostly by your schedule to start and see what happens!

    • March 11, 2020 / 4:04 pm

      Hi Natalie!

      Congrats on landing your new job! Hope your art freelancing goes well, and looking forward to hearing if the schedule helps! Thanks for sharing 🙂

  10. Tannece
    April 26, 2020 / 8:40 am

    This was such a good read. I was searching for things of this nature but what I loved was that you actually outlined your day by time slots which was what I needed and was looking for. Thanks for sharing!

    • May 2, 2020 / 1:38 pm

      Thanks Tannece! Glad you found it helpful! 🙂

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