Mother, spouse, caregiver, friend, community advocate, boss…Women are notorious for juggling too many things. We spend so much time being all things to everyone that it leaves us overwhelmed, exhausted and resentful. Throw in being an entrepreneur and – whew – it’s like “where’s the wine??”

It makes for long days and sleepless nights as you try to balance achieving your dreams with maintaining everyday life.

So how do you take time for you when you have so many responsibilities? How do you find time to be the boss AND be whole?

Here are 3 tips for getting out of working so hard and into a balanced business and personal life:

Understand Your Priorities

It’s important to know what you will and won’t do in your day. Things get thrown at us throughout the day so it’s vital to understand what’s important to get done for that day so you don’t get distracted. Note that not everything even needs to be handled right away or at all. At the beginning of your day make a list of your priorities to get done. Sort them into Must Do, Would Like to Do, Could Wait. Don’t forget to do this for your business and personal ‘to do list’ and as distractions come in, put them into those categories as well. Don’t do any of other tasks until you finish your Must Dos – no matter how easy or tempting it may be. This may mean that the Could Wait list doesn’t get done – be ok with that!

Plan Your Days and Set Boundaries

Now that you know what you need to work on, you can lay out a plan that helps you stay on track and reduce distractions. This eliminates frustration from not getting things done. Schedule the time you need to get things done. Yes, put it on your calendar so your team knows you’re busy during certain times. Don’t have a team but managing your personal life too? Set boundaries with your family and friends for when you can’t be disturbed and why. (I have a curtain over my office doors that gets pulled closed. My family knows this means don’t come in) On the flip side, set boundaries with yourself for when business is set aside so you have personal time.

Give it away

Does this sound like you? “They can’t do it the way I can”. “It will take me longer to teach them than to just do it”. Ladies let’s be transparent for a minute. We have difficulty delegating in business AND at home. The thought of entrusting someone else with the things we need to get accomplished just really puts a pit in our stomachs. In order to get more balanced while getting more accomplished it’s important to learn that it’s ok to let someone else take on some tasks so you get time back in your day. Remember those things on the Could Wait list? Those likely can be given to someone else or not done at all. Here’s some things to keep in mind when delegating:

• If someone can do it with better quality and speed – DELEGATE!
• If it is something you could train on – DELEGATE!
• If you have the money to pay someone else – DELEGATE!

…All so you get time back, decrease your stress and can focus on the most critical self-care and revenue generating things!

Sis, exhaustion IS NOT required for you to be successful and it will slowly deplete you. There’s a better way. So set your priorities and boundaries, outline your plan for getting things done and give away the things you don’t need to be doing.