How do we find balance in life generally? We’re all BUSY! We all have worries and stress. We fill so many roles in life that build us into who we are and who we become, BUT we are not the roles themselves. They are an experience that contribute to “ME”. I do NOT have all of the answers, but I have found thing that work for me and you may be able to use them and find some balance also. In this blog, I’m going to help you identify your roles, prioritize your roles, and plan for being successful in those roles. You may need a sheet of scrap paper to jot down some notes. Let’s do this!
Identify Your Roles
Simply put, your roles are how you impact someone else’s life. Think of your daily functions and the people that you interact with. These are my current roles and they change when life events happen. They all require attention and are important!
| ROLE | PERSON(S) YOU ARE IMPACTING | Priority |
| Daughter | My Dad and Mom. They did a great job providing opportunity for me to grow. | 1, 2 |
| Sister | The Best Big Sister that always looked out for what was best for me. | 1, 2 |
| Wife | To my High School Sweetheart and Best Friend | 1 |
| Mother | To 3 awesome kids that keep me hopping and remind me that current math is different from “the old days”. |
1 |
| Employee in Manufacturing | An AWESOME team of people that provide service | 1, 2, 3 |
| Small Business Owner | Customers get an amazing product and experience. | 1, 2, 3 |
Prioritizing Your Roles
All of the roles you fill— impact you. Now that you’ve identified them, let’s see which ones are the most important. You can see in the chart above, I’ve provided my priorities. Notice that some have 1, 2, 3 because those roles may not always be my primary focus, but still need attention. It’s okay to have overlapping priorities, after-all my ability to provide financial stability impacts my #1 priority. What’s REALLY important to YOU?
Planning Your Roles
Now that you’ve identified and prioritized your roles, let’s make sure they all get attention! You can use any planner or scheduling device that you like, but make sure that you USE it! All of your roles need ACTION, so you should put it into your schedule. Even if it’s a simple reminder to “Call your sister”. If you cannot complete an action that you have put into your schedule, make sure that you put it in AGAIN-(maybe tomorrow??) so that it doesn’t fall off your plate! Once you’ve completed it, check it off! It’s amazing how you feel at the end of the day and you look back at a list of completed actions!
Sometimes we lose focus on what is really important because we are busy doing “LIFE STUFF”. It happens to all of us. When I find myself running in circles, going nowhere……I know I need to re-evaluate my roles, their priorities, and create a plan to get it under control. Otherwise, I feel exhausted and empty because I’ve “completed” nothing. Sometimes the re-evaluation is the reset I need to reveal a new perspective.
I hope that you find value in this and can use it to keep yourself on track. Success looks different for everyone. I’d love to hear from you! Leave me a comment or email me at erica@joneserica.com.