Finding a Harmonious Arrangement September 14, 2007
Posted by coachtonya in Topics of the Week.trackback
I wanted to extend the topic of balance to this weeks topic. Balance is on the mind and lips of everyone…how to find it…how to make it work…how to maintain it. It is the topic of much discussion every where I turn.
What exactly is balance?
It is hard to define balance in any detail, because the act of balancing is to find what works for you and your family. What is balance for one would not necessarily work for someone else.
One definition from dictionary.com defines balance as “a harmonious arrangement or relation of parts or elements within a whole (as in a design)”.
It is that “harmonious arrangement” that lets us know if we are truely living a life of balance. But, it is not always easy to arrive at that harmonious place in our lives.
Have you found a harmonious arrangement in your life?
Where have or do you struggle?
By commenting on this week’s topic you will be entered into the drawing for this week’s sponsor prize.
Our sponsor for this weeks disucssion is Bea Kunz from Sage Hill Farms and Vintage Store, Bea has generously donated a collection of culinary herbs and teas, with recipes and great “how-to” tips to make wonderful meals (a $50 value).
Mom\'s Coffee Break 
I think that one of the areas that is a challenge is that balance is a give and take. It is not so much equal time spent in each area as much as it is quality of time spent in each area of your life.
Balance for me is very much give and take, if I have a week of work and school deadlines, I might not have much time with my family, but I will then make sure that on the weekend, they get all of me (minus the time I take for myself).
Sometimes it is like a like a house of cards, but you can make it work.
I can’t wait to hear from others, I think the more we can share about how we balance in our lives…the more we can help inspire others to bring tha harmonious arrangement into their lives.
I run my own business as a professional organizing consultant, author and speaker as well as working nearly full time (4 days a week) at another job. I’m married with 2 children. So my schedule is very full, but I still feel for the most part that I’ve reached that balance because I enjoy what I do now.
When I think back to the time before I started my business and was working at a full time job that I didn’t find fulfilling, I felt no balance in my life even though I actually worked less. For me, finding balance means finally finding peace and enjoyment in whatever I do.
I totally agree Christine, my life is very busy…very full, but I am alot happier than I was when I was just working a part time job outside of the home. My family is happier too, because we spend more quality time together and we really make our family time count. Being fulfilled as a person is a very important part of balance!
T.
I know that for me, being a wife, sister, daugther, mother, friend it can be hard sometimes to find BALANCE in my life.
I believe that balance can be defined differently for each of us. I think as long as we think of time in quality instead of quantity it may be a bit easier on us. And it is about scheduling time and sticking to the schedule that we create for ourselves.
For example, this year as my daughter started 4th grade, I have rearranged my work schedule so I have a 3 hr time frame for her once she gets home from school. So my focus is soley on her and the household duties. This gives me time to hear about her day, help her with her homework, reading time together and then she helps me make dinner. After dinner she helps wash the dishes and then I go back to work for a few more hours while she takes her shower and watches her 1-2 hrs of TV before she goes to bed. Also, thanks to Tonya’s 3R’s challenge a couple of months ago, I have set a bedtime for myself and have held myself to that as well (actually most of the time, I go to sleep earlier than that). By rearranging my schedule to work for a few hours in the evening and then getting off, it has created more time with my spouse and giving me time to do something each day just for me too. This has really allowed me to find more balance in my schedule and spend quality time for my business, spouse, child and the household. I have found better balance also be asking for help. I started asking my daugther to help with dinner and the dishes; so I don’t have to do it all myself and she is learning at the same time.
Teresa, this is such a wonderful example of real balance. It sounds like it works perfect for your family allowing you to have time with you, as well as you having time to grow your business.
And Great job sticking with the 3 R’s Challenge I have found that the key to my productivity has been getting enough sleep!!
CONGRATS!!
T.
My life is pretty out-of-balance right now. The good news is my copywriting business is picking up after lots and lots of effort I put into getting clients. The bad news is I can ALWAYS find lots to do, not just something to do like when I worked outside the home. I also need to get enough sleep and keep down the stress level for health reasons. I’m working on it!
Wish me luck!
Ro
A big Congrats to Rosemary from Writing Military Mom, she won this weeks prize! Now, you will have some nice relaxing teas and herbs to try!
Enjoy them and let us know how you like them!!
With Empowering Regards,
Tonya