3 Simple Ways to Find Balance as a Parent
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3 Simple Ways to Find Balance as a Parent
Embrace Your Everyday: Simple Tricks to Restore Balance
When You’re Feeling Burnt Out
Balancing a busy life and parenting can feel like a never-ending sprint. There are days when everything seems to be scheduled down to the minute and nights when your head finally hits the pillow and you can’t even remember what you ate that day or if you brushed your teeth.
Maybe you’re even thinking, work-life balance? Ha! What’s that?
But if you’re here reading this, it probably means you want to pause the everyday hustle.
And I get it.
A few years ago, I was a top business executive of a fortune 5000 company that I started from scratch with my husband while we raised our four young children.
Sixteen hour, jam-packed days were the norm. I remember breastfeeding my daughter at three in the morning while answering emails to clients.
The parenting hustle is all too familiar to me.
So here’s something I want to share from my heart to yours, true balance isn't about perfectly aligning every minute of your day. It’s not about keeping score to make sure you’re showing up for all your roles equally, because that isn’t possible, and you’re going to burn out trying.
A work-life balance isn’t saying, “Hey, if I get in a 20 minute exercise routine, that will balance out my 20 minute commute, and it’s only fair if I give 60 minutes of undivided attention to my kids when I get home. So that means if I squeeze in a shower for…” Do you see where I’m going here?
Balance doesn’t have to mean you're constantly trying to even out the scale of work and home life.
Whether you’re a fulltime SAHM or SAHD, a parent working remotely, a parent commuting long hours to work, or all the variations in between, you just can’t have everyday feel like it’s going to be magically aligned. Instead, __try to think of balance in terms of finding fulfillment and joy in the moments you already have. __
Today, I’m sharing three tips on how I shifted my focus from trying to do it all to leaning into balance by focusing on what’s already around me.
Redefining Balance: It's Not About the Schedules
My great parenting advice for you? We can’t add more hours to the day but we can still find moments in our day to reset.
When life feels off balance for me, I like to support myself by taking time to focus on what’s going on around me.
So, if the morning was nothing but chaos, and I’ve got a meeting starting in a few minutes and things just feel overwhelming, balance can come from finding time and activities that are already in my day and leaning into that to level up my self-care.
My top tips for parents to gain more balance:
- Focus on Gratitude
Gratitude is so important. When my life feels chaotic and I need to recenter, gratitude will get me there. Here are a few ways you can drop into gratitude when you need to:
👉 Be present with your food
👉 Take a moment to think of three things you’re grateful for
👉 Keep a gratitude journal
👉 Send a message of thanks to someone
👉 Practice mindfulness or meditation and focus on feelings of gratitude
- Be Mindful of Noise
Set an intention to become aware of the types of conversations you’re having. Life is energy, and you only want to attract the very best in your life.
I’m always reminding myself that what you think about, you bring about and your energy goes where your attention flows. So try to be aware—whether you’re at work, the park, a restaurant—that if you put out positive energy, you’re taking in the same.
So if the conversation turns negative or draining, you can always tell someone that you want to focus on positive topics. You have the right to set boundaries that protect your mental space and promote a healthy mindset.
- Connect to Your Breath
Stop, Breath, Reset.
Rest is so important and there are many different ways to get it. Allow yourself the space to breathe and give yourself 5 minutes of you time. Practice focused, positive thinking and breath into words like:
👉 “I’ve got this”
👉 ”There is no hurry”
👉 “I am perfectly imperfect”
👉 “Everything will get done”
When you integrate simple, daily practices that help you recharge, reconnect, and prioritize the positive, then the long days, the sleepless nights, the changing of the many hats you wear… it will all feel a little more do-able.
Sure life can be a hustle, but you can hustle differently and create a life with more intention, giving yourself the balance you deserve.
I’ll leave you with this: Life is only and always happening in this moment.