Balancing a fulfilling career and a full personal life a hard thing to do. With the help of mentors, colleagues and my company, I’ve had the pleasure of trying things out, getting help and tips and trying to do my best to actually balance it all. I am a mother of three, a lacrosse coach for my local high school and I work full time for JVK International Movers. 

What works best for me is making time for myself. I get up early, journal in the morning before work, do a NY Times mini crossword while having a cup of tea. This gets my mind awake, ready to tackle the day and in a good place. I feel having this time to get my mind ready and not just diving right into my emails helps me set the day up for success.

Also, I am a big advocate for moving your body every day, no matter how long you have—whether it’s five minutes or an hour. Leaving the house or office and going to the gym, on a walk or run, going to a workout class, or even just to the sauna and having a stretch! I have joined a women’s tennis group which is amazing, it checks off two boxes—working out and being social! It’s truly a wonderful thing. This again clears the mind and sets me up for a better me, and to be a better employee for JVK.

In the chaos of having three kids under age five, my husband has truly helped me practice mindfulness. He has been an advocate for practicing mindfulness for much longer than I and it has greatly helped us both. Sometimes mindfulness can be a full thing—sitting in a quiet room with a noise machine and lying down and practicing. Other times ,if you just have a few minutes, it can be simply taking a breath and focusing on the air coming in and out, and focusing only on your breath. That is a great reset that I do when my work to-do list is miles long and I am trying to juggle being a mother, too. Even on the sideline of a game I’m coaching, if I feel myself getting worked up, I can almost hear my husband’s voice saying to just focus on your breath. It really works!

Lastly, at the end of the day before I read and go to sleep, I do something my mentor taught me. She journals five minutes up and downs of the day, and I’ve found that writing things down helps so much—just a few brief notes getting your thoughts out. It resets the mind, gets whatever out that you need out and helps you achieve a clean slate for the night and next day.

These are habits that have set me up for success and helped me be a better employee, mother and friend. I like to be busy and time management is also key here, but making time for myself really has changed me for the better. If you ask for suggestions from colleagues, friends, mentors, and partners, they can help you in more ways than you expect. I have had help from all over the board and now have created habits that make my day flow much more smoothly.

Balancing it all is hard—give yourself some grace, but making time for yourself is always going to help.