No time has presented more challenges to a woman to balance being a modern, cosmopolitan woman and yet a fortress at home as today; with the empowerment we have been handed, it is true that it is tough being a force at the workplace, a strong mother figure, a caring wife and still manage to look fabulous every morning. The key, really, is balance…

Now don’t get me wrong, you cannot slack off at work under the pretext of striking a balance-if you can make yourself indispensable at work, you go girl! That will open up doors and windows of opportunities to you but on your way up the first thing to take care of is priorities. Set your priorities straight and work in line with them so that you never have to compromise.

This means look at the activities you engage in that waste your time and add no value to your life-this could be in a professional or in your personal life. Take stock and, for example, cut down on the social networking during after work hours (go meet your friends in person instead).

You won’t believe this but networking is actually a career success strategy as well as a touchdown for a work/life balance! A support network in and out of the office makes you twice as strong-there are other women just like yourself, you know.

Use break periods to reach out to friends on phone or meet up for tea. Remember even if you don’t have control over your work hours, always find ways to sneak enjoyment into your monotonous routine.

In line with this…does anyone relate when I say traffic is nauseating? Instead of blowing an hour in traffic, meet up with colleagues or friends who are all in the near vicinity after work to pass time as the traffic gridlock melts away-an hour a day is too precious and besides all that fuel wasted!

Take downtime for family; date night with a partner, movies with kids, anything to look forward to and make sure you put this on your calendar.

With today’s smart phones, you can schedule time every now and then for friends; this is especially true of mothers who devote all their time to their work and children. There IS a bigger picture you know.

Make time to get moving; it is hard enough to make time for oneself but exercise will actually give you more energy and make you more alert. Early in the morning or during evening rush hour, sneak a few minutes into your day to get your pulse racing. A power walk or even a jog is enough.

The last one I promise: a little relaxation goes a long way. No need to get overwhelmed planning how to make gigantic changes in your life-set realistic goals and slowly build more activities into your schedule; but be sure to set aside 15 minutes a day for yourself and listen to music, take a nice bath or anything that makes you happy!

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