Survey

Balancing My Busy Life

Your Answers to these Questions:

Question #1:  What are some of your greatest struggles when it comes to balancing everything that you are doing in and outside of your home?

“Trying to do everything,” and “energy to do both work and home activities,” were the most common struggles.

Question #2:  On a scale of 1 -10, how overwhelmed do you feel with your daily or even weekly activities and responsibilities?

The average number on the scale was an 8.  I am not surprised but this is a real good indicator that women everywhere are trying to do too much.

Question #3:  In what area or areas do you feel most overwhelmed when it comes to balance?

“Wearing so many hats and feeling like I never accomplish them all.” – This is a terrible feeling, isn’t it? When we have too much going on and we just feel like we cannot ever get it all done, it causes us to have a sense of failure. We are not failures, ladies! We simply have too many things on our plates. So, what are we going to do about that? I hope you will read my blog entitled Finding Balance in all that We are Doing Inside and Outside of our Homes.

Question #4:  Are there areas that you feel are suffering due to the lack of time available for you to direct attention and energy to them?

My favorite answer was this one: “What energy?!”

Some of you were concerned that quality time with your husband and children was suffering. The majority of you felt like keeping up with the housework was where you were failing. The things that needed to be done around the house were not getting done. Many of you admitted that there just wasn’t any time to simply take good care of yourself. And many were grieved that spending time with the Lord in consistent study of His word and prayer wasn’t happening frequently enough.

Question #5:  If you could change something in your busy, busy schedule, what might it be?

Most women simply wanted to spend more time at home. Others really wanted people in their lives to step up and take responsibility for themselves, so they wouldn’t feel obligated to do their part for them. A few working moms wanted desperately to come out of their jobs and become stay at home moms, but circumstances have not allowed for that.

Question #6:  What, if anything, have you found to be helpful when it comes to striking a healthy balance in all that you are doing?

Top Answers:  

“I don’t overwork myself anymore.”“Taking care of myself physically, spiritually, and emotionally so I feel like getting up earlier and getting what needs to be done, done.”“Prayer and spending time in the word.”“When asked to do something, I ask myself ‘will this activity bring me closer to God and my family’ if the answer is “no” then my answer is “no.”

These are some GREAT answers and this is some very good advice that we can all benefit from!

I, myself have had to learn to say no, even when I really want to say yes. This is the big one for me. Many times, I have brought on my own stress by simply saying yes to too many things. By the way, we cannot please everyone, and we will wear ourselves out trying if we are not careful. Simplifying my life as much as I can has helped me tremendously. I am most content with less; less activity. Less is MORE! And having that quiet time with the Lord first, before I do anything else, makes a world of difference, not only in how my overall day goes even when it comes to productivity, but in my perspective, my thinking, in the steadiness of my heart no matter what is happening around me, and above all being able to tune into His voice so I can be led by His Spirit in all that I do. Breaking away from all the activity and the noise at different times during my day is a must for me. I must have down time. How about you? This leads us to our last very important question.

Question #6: Do you make time to do the things that cause you to feel the greatest amount of contentment, happiness, and peace? Why or why not? What is holding you back?

Most answers included “guilt."

It seems that when some of us do things for ourselves we feel that we really should be doing something more productive! Well, let me tell you that unless we take some time for ourselves and take good care of ourselves, we won’t be very productive. And we won’t be much good to anyone else in our lives. We cannot neglect ourselves.

Most women answered that they put this time off and, as a result it just didn’t happen. Others said that they take time only after they have first reached a breaking point.

Okay, ladies, we have a lot to pray about. We have some changes that we need to make, don’t we?

Leave me a comment and be sure to read my blog on this very topic. I hope this helps someone and I pray that we all learn to strike a healthy balance in all that we are doing inside and outside of our homes. 

Jennifer Rash