Work, Life, Balance is a phrase that I attempt to live by but often struggle to make happen, thinking most of you can also relate? Striking that balance is a process and then it is considering what aspects across our lives require balancing followed by recognition that fine tuning this balancing act is truly a work in progress that will require ongoing maintenance to ensure sustainability.

So, what is it that you need to balance? Myself being mostly alone, find it difficult at times to switch off from work, often my work schedule as it is often welcomed as it distracts my mind particularly when I am by myself so find that this slowly starts to dominate my free time limiting time to explore new hobbies, visit with friends, family or indulge in self-care as I find I'm too fatigued, stressed and frustrated!

Let's explore some practices that may assist you to bring about balance in your life:

- Identify your cycle, what focus/es do you have in your life that dominate your time & energy as this is your starting point and allows you to start mapping out why this is occurring, what you need to do to manage it & what changes need to occur do this. Lastly, timeframes in which you are going to work within to create sustainable changes to ensure a more balanced lifestyle!

- Set Realistic Expectations, working within your ability is so important and this means being honest and acknowledging the restrictions in your life, this could be a range of issue or just one? For some it can be time, energy or even resources such as transport or finances, it will vary across us all as we are all unique individuals! By doing this you are ensuring that you don't fall into the trap of you pushing yourself and setting unrealistic expectations which is often unintentional but sets you up to fail. As change & balance takes time, fast tracking it will only result in temporary unsustainable solutions, providing short term relief! Instead pace yourself, tally up what capacity you have to bring about balance and take small steps so that the changes you make are sustainable, achievable & take time to recognise & celebrate the changes you implement!

- Cultivate Consistency, as consistent actions in turn create routine which allows us to nurture new habits which is an important characteristic of balance, even though initially it may be difficult! Remind yourself that any change is always challenging initially, as you are stepping outside our comfort zone into the unknown which is daunting, but that anxiety is temporary and natural part of moving forward, they key is to sit with the discomfort, acknowledge it and move through it knowing you are working towards positive outcomes.

- Ask yourself, what areas of in your life require consistency to create balance? For myself, being honest, my key area is something I need to ensure is a daily work in progress and have little reminders up around the house to ensure I remain mindful of balancing out and setting boundaries around workload to allow time needed for my own self-care to recharge!

- Plan. We plan for occasions or events such as birthdays, anniversaries, exams or going on a date but we often don't apply this to our day to day lives. Apply this principal to yourself, as it ensures we are prepared and committed to the task at hand and its only logical that applying this principal to ourselves will allow us to plan and put the time to the side or adjust our commitments to make the time we need to find balance! Being a visual learner, having visual prompts such as a whiteboard, diary or journal to plan helps me as it is in my face daily but find what works for you, even when it comes to your planning cycle! Mine is weekly, I structure my weeks every Sunday afternoon to allow me to have allocated time across my upcoming week with emphasis on self-care to strike balance.

- Be present, make this a conscious choice to ensure you focus your energies into the now as it will allow you to cultivate an advantageous & balanced life across that is important, whereby you should be at the top of that list!

Wrapping up, know that it all starts with you and hope that the tips outlined in this article assist you to define what balance is for you? Allowing you to define it on your own terms, so that you have more you time to rid yourself off those daily pressures that contribute to imbalance! Best of luck, start small knowing this is contributing toward a more balanced life through taking control, setting boundaries, with the focus on YOU!