5 Tips to Living a Balanced Life: How to Live a Balanced Life

Trying to be everything can make you lose your mind. I love that line because it’s a lyric from one of my favorite songs by one of my favorite bands, Lady Antebellum (for reference the song is American Honey).

That song lyric really stood out to me recently. It struck a chord with me because I have been guilty of trying to be everything and everything to everyone. As a result I have often gotten out of balance with my life and my time.

The Problem

Now days, we are juggling and multitasking more than ever. Most of us are overworked. Quiet time or downtime just seems like a nice idea in theory. But in reality we tend to snuff at the idea of downtime as if somehow our dreams will start running away if we don’t pound the payment every second.. 

As much as it is important to work hard to strive towards your goals, there has to be a balance. How well are you going to enjoy that dream house or that dream vacation if you’re sick, too exhausted all the time, anxious, or dead (seriously more on that in a minute)?

I am preaching this to myself. I have a type A personality and I will just about die before I give up on something or admit something is too much. I use to live on the philosophy of “I can sleep when I’m dead” and “Don’t put off till tomorrow what you can get done today”. It is a strength to be determined and hard working but it can be a weakness when I don’t let go and rest. I had to teach myself to maintain balance in my life. Here are 5 solutions that have helped me live a balance life.

The Solution: 5 tips to living a balanced life

1. It’s ok to say no.

I know some people personally that think no is a curse word. They commit to everything and everyone and as a result they spread themselves too thin. You have to take care of yourself first. Too often people do not take care of themselves. I understand that this is hard especially for boss ladies like me that want to take on the world. At the end of the day though, I am only human and eventually I have to lay on my bed to sleep. No amount of Starbucks drinks can replace what my body does naturally to revive itself with basic sleep. Think of it like this, how good are you going to be as an employee, friend, spouse, mom etc if you’re  worn down or dead? Seriously, I fell asleep at the wheel several times exhausted with taking on everything, and started veering off into the exit lane by a wall. I’m keeping it real here. (p.s I’m going to revisit this point in a future post here)

2. It’s ok to ask for help.

This tags off point 1 that it is impossible to do everything forever. At some point you have to reach out for help. No woman or man is an island. I remember when I broke my driving foot (click here if you want to know the story), the hardest thing for me was not being as independent as I was used to. I had to depend on others big time. I learned though that it is ok sometimes. Let people in your life that love you care for you. Asking for help isn’t just being humble, it’s actually being mature because we are here to help each other out.

3. Prioritize your day.

What is your priority? What gets the biggest chunk of your time pie? For me it’s work because I have to get up early to get all my stuff together and commute. Maybe for you it is school right now or you are a stay at home mom (kudos to all the mommas out there). Start with a list of priorities that are a must and ones that are a want. For example, after work my next priorities have smaller chunks of the time pie. When it comes down to blogging, it’s a small chunk in the pie. I can only fit blogging in at my lunch break or evenings and occasionally weekends. I would love to devote more time to it but I cannot right now.

Note: Remember that just because your time pie looks a certain way right now doesn’t  mean it can’t look differently later. My life for a long time was nothing but school. I craved to start traveling. Now I am able to travel some now that I’m not in school. Maybe you want to travel or you want to have a family but it’s just not the right timing or you don’t have the resources yet. That is ok. Don’t get discouraged. You will have your time soon enough.  Life is full of seasons.

4. Take a break everyday.

We all have deadlines and some of us are pulled in many directions. You have to take a break everyday. What? Yes. Taking a break can be something you do in the middle of the day or at night like reading a book for a few minutes or listening to your favorite song. This is vital to your physical, emotional, and psychological well-being. I practiced this policy all the time when I was in school. I was exhausted and staring at the screen for hours trying to think of something profound for papers I always had to write. I would get off the blaring computer screen, put my earphones in, and watch a funny YouTube video (usually of cute kids and animals). Laughing would take my mind off things for a moment and allowed me to refresh. Did taking a few minutes to refresh move my paper along? No, but I believe I wrote a better quality paper refreshed and recharged. Do yourself a favor and get out of the fog cloud.

5. Have other outlets in your life.

All of us have responsibilities like jobs and home life. We also all have goals that we are working towards in the midst of life going on in the process. I think it is healthy to have other outlets that are not required or do not have a deadline necessarily attached to it. Outlets like hobbies that are positive distractions or activities we can enjoy. This is something beyond point 4 of taking a break during the day. For some people they enjoy an exercise class, or playing with makeup, or joining a book club. It may seem like it is easier said than done finding time for a hobby. Most people may feel it is hopeless to squeeze something else into the pie chart of time. But it is vital and helps you be a well-rounded. It doesn’t have to be everyday but something you do once a week or once a month to develop a skill or enjoy a hobby. Personally, this has been the hardest thing for to keep consistent in my life. It is something I hope to get back into my life because when I was in exercise dance classes for example, I enjoyed it and it helped my mental well-being.

Thank you for checking out my tips to living a balanced life. It is something I work on all the time, but it is a healthy thing to work on for your physical, mental, and emotional well-being.

Take care,



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