That way once 5pm rolls around…there’s no doubt in my mind that I need to start wrapping up for the day and transition to family time. I wanted to establish a routine where I didn’t allow myself to work before 8am or after 5:30pm (again…I don’t nail this every day but I’m trying). This is something I’m still working on but ever since Shiloh turned 2 (aka wasn’t a baby anymore haha) I decided working all hours of the day wasn’t really feasible or something I wanted to do anymore. Your to-do list items will still be there tomorrow! tip #4: drawing clear boundary lines Be okay with having some items on your to-do list not checked off at the end of the day and choose to prioritize friendships + family instead. I now have a running to-do list with the week’s date range at the top of it so I know…I need to get all of these things done before end of the week. but being an enneagram 3 i often think i need to do ALL the things on my to-do list right this second before I can do anything else! if you’re struggling to prioritize your personal life – self-care + relationships…look at your to-do list at the beginning of the week and know it’s not your to-do list for MONDAY necessarily.

Oftentimes I struggle with making enough time for family + friendships because i get stuck in this mindset of ‘I have too much to do! i can’t go to the park today’ or whatever it might be. Tip #3: remember, there are 7 days in a week When I’m in Shiloh’s playroom, I try and plug my phone in downstairs and don’t even bring it in the playroom because I know i’ll be tempted to answer texts or e-mails while I’m in there with her. Try not to kind of be playing a card game with your toddler while on a conference call. Same goes for working! When you are answering e-mails or on a call, as best as you can, be fully present. Or when you’re at dinner with your mom, don’t pull your phone out of your purse. So if you’re struggling to prioritize relationships and your personal life…go for a walk with a friend and leave your phone at home. I know this goes against the ‘how to boost your engagement on IG’ strategy where people seem to be IG storying every second of their life…but for me, I’d rather prioritize my relationships than my IG story views. Something that has helped me draw boundary lines between work and personal life is when I am with Shiloh or Michael or friends / family…I try and not have my phone out. We all think multi-tasking is the greatest skill to be admired when in reality…you’re actually accomplishing nothing by thinking you’re accomplishing everything at once haha. It’s our special time together and we both look forward to it every week! Which brings me to my next point… Shiloh has gymnastics at 10 so I usually get her up and dressed Tuesday mornings, we eat breakfast together, I take her to gymnastics and then after we night go to lunch or the toy store depending on the day! I try and be really conscious during this ‘shiloh time’ to not be on my phone at all and be 100% WITH her. For me, that dedicated time is Tuesday mornings. That way, I wasn’t trying to multitask or stressing about not working. There are random times throughout my week where I’ll decide to go to the playground with Shiloh & friends or just hang out in her playroom with her…but I wanted something on my calendar where I knew every week at this time, I’m not working. But this year I decided I wanted to pick one block of time during the work week to specifically dedicate to Shiloh.

I typically work 8-5:30ish Monday – Friday.

Work life balance tips