How to Get my Life Back and Achieve Balance
Photos by Jackie J Photography
Happy New Year! As with years past, I took a few days off to reflect and enjoy the beginning of the year with my family and friends. Members of my group blog and I also decided to separate to focus on our individual platforms. While this change allows me to have more time to create, it suddenly shifted my whole plan for 2018. As much as I’m a fan of finding glitch fares and taking breaks, last year I had no balance for life. My overall time management and work life balance were non-existent and it seemed like something always took precedence over the other. I’m still striving to grow and do better with my blog, but this year I’m focusing more on how to get my life back and achieve balance.
Managing Work and Home Life Last Year
In 2017, I scheduled, then canceled plans with friends, blog posts, and videos more often than I should have. Depending on the month, ALL of my focus was on one platform or the other. There were even times I just chose to just do nothing at all. In and out of the sessions from Blogalicious 9, I realized if I wanted to be a balanced person, a change needed to be made. Not only do I need to put in the work to get the results I want, I needed to be balanced with work and “play” time so one doesn’t exceed the other. To avoid not having time management and work life balance and being overwhelmed, I purchased an 18 month Kate Spade planner on Black Friday. It has a cute Parisian theme and gives me ample space to schedule appointments, write down tasks, notes, and ideas for each day. In the month that I’ve been using it, it has been a tremendous help with managing work and home life.
How to Get My Life Back: Work Life Balance Initiatives
With the help of my planner and more discipline, here are some work life balance initiatives that I hope will help be a balanced person.
- Be Transparent – With myself and others. Traveling is awesome, but not everything is roses and lilies. I’ll be sharing more of that on the blog.
- Have “Me” Time – Something I’ve slacked on a lot last year was having time for myself. I had a taste during my “chillcation” in Cancun, but this time, I’m implementing this practice in the US.
- Collaborate – Collaborating with creatives and brands is something I would love to do more of. Collaborating with creatives also expands our potential reach and just because a post is sponsored doesn’t mean I won’t share my honest opinion.
- Do More Video – Working in the software and collaboration field, I know creating videos on YouTube is something I need to do more of. I need to dedicate time to edit and use my equipment effectively.
- Read More – I used to be an avid reader. If you have book recommendations, please share.
- Eat Better – I need to remember that in order to eat better, I need to cook. Stay tuned for more recipe sharing. I would love to recreate the food and drinks I’ve had during my travels.
- Work Out – Even with a busy lifestyle, working out and going to the gym this year is high on my list.
- Explore NYC – Can you believe I do so many guides and tips for destinations around the globe and have little to no information on NYC? Yeah, that needs to change. I share some of my favorite eateries on social media and will be incorporating it on the blog more.
- Travel More – I wouldn’t be a travel writer if I didn’t actually travel. I have at least 4 trips planned and paid for 2018 already. Look out for more travel guides and vlogs in the coming months.
- Be Debt Free – Don’t let all this traveling fool you, I still pay my bills. In the last year, I’ve paid off at least 2-3 major credit cards. I’m aiming to have nothing owed this year.
- Master SEO – Good ole Search Engine Optimization…I was able to apply basic principles on my group platform and get 5000+ pageviews in searches alone. God willing, I will get the same on this as well.
- Take Better Photos – Since buying my new camera, I ALWAYS use it. Since I’m so picky about my photos, I’m going to learn it as much as I can.
- Be Firm with Saying “No” – Contrary to some people’s belief, I do not like hurting one’s feelings. I’ve learned that hurting yourself and being frustrated about situations is much worse. Part of having a healthy balance for life is learning when to say “no”. If something doesn’t align with my lifestyle whether it is a friendship or business opportunity, “no” will be my response.
- Sleep – Getting enough sleep is one of the hardest things for me to do. I get so caught up with working that I keep going until it is done. Being passionate about work is important, but getting enough restful sleep helps me stay focused and charged.
For the past few 2-3 years, I’ve been writing down my yearly goals and for the most part, the results have been exactly what I wanted. With more time on my hands, a whole lot of faith and prayer mixed in, I’m pretty sure my work life balance plan will help me become a more balanced person.
You have some great goals. I work from home full time, blog part time (want to be full time again) and raise three kids. Balance is something that you would think I have managed however, one of the three usually takes all of my attention each month and it’s a constant game of playing catchup. This year I’m hoping to change that though. Like you I also write down my goals so I can track them and keep myself motivated.
Balance is definitely important and hard to manage. Recognizing that what you can eliminate is key! I know you can do it!
Great goals! I pray that you are able to accomplish all of them. One of my biggest goals for this year is to really focus on my blog and my photography business. No more excuses.
Fantastic goals for yourself! I think that balance is a tricky thing, but when you find that you’re striving for it, it’s easier to achieve!
This is a great list. My main goal for 2018 is to be present. Live more in the moment and put the phone down.
I’ve always been a believer in the mantra “our thoughts become things” and this is perfect example of putting your goals out there so they came become a reality.
This is great. This year, I’d like to be known and do whatever I can to get my work in the universe.
This year o want yo connect with more people…actually connect people in real life. I also want to do video posts and attend a creative conference. In addition I want to master SEO as well and grow my email list.
Thanks for sharing your goals.
I’ve been doing yearly goals as well, but in addition to that this year I plan to thin slice those goals and break them down into months and even weeks to make sure I stay on the right track.
Yes, the beginning of the month, I set aside what I want to accomplish as a whole and broke it down week by week or each day. I can also see where I can squeeze in an unplanned project like what I’m doing next week. Wish I knew this before. Sooooo much easier lol.
Haha, definitely better than doing the whole year upfront!
Wonderful post! Glad you took time to reflect, as it brings clarity! Excited to see your excellence shine in 2018!
I’ve already managed to complete my one and only goal, that was to design my room to get more restful sleep. Outside of that I usually don’t make resolutions. But my monthly goals really help to keep me focused.
Master that SEO. So you can help me.
My biggest goal for 2018 is have a commercial with Ford motor company. Don’t know how it’s going to happen but it is!
That’ll be awesome! It’s gonna happen girl
Balance is so necessary. I work a lot and make very little time to do things I enjoy, so that’s something I want to do more this year.