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Challenge: Parenting Resolutions

2018 Resolution: Finding Balance In Your Personal and Professional Life

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Whether you're a work from home entrepreneur looking to balance your personal life, a professional looking for more ways to take better care of your business, or if you just need to find more time to yourself, you will need to start take gain some control, while also letting go in the areas that you don't have control.

We live in a perpetually on the go society, to the point that being busy has become like a status symbol or guilty pleasure.

The fact of the matter is that every human being on this earth has the exact same amount of time every day -- 24 hours. It's what you do with those 24 hours that makes the difference in your life.

When you are looking to better manage your time and get the most out of each and every day, let these suggestions serve to guide you to become a better leader and professional.

Get More Fully Into the Present Moment

Your first instinct might be to look at your days so that you can squeeze out more time than you ordinarily are able to find. However, it might serve you better when you first figure out how to make better use of the time that you do have.

Think about it -- you've probably had situations at work where you showed up and clocked in for 8 hours but were you working the entire time?

Apply that same line of thinking to every other area of your life and you'll probably see that you have more time that you're not using productively.

For instance, rather than being upset that you only have an hour to spend in the morning with your kids before you go to work, what if you maximized on that hour, rather than checking e-mails or having you all sit in front of the television?

Consider quality over quantity, and strive to live your entire life in the present moment, so that you're spending less time in unproductive loops.

Religiously Record Dates and Appointments

To make sure that you have balance and time management, keep some calendars for your most important appointments and dates. Figure out a system that works best for you, be it a calendar on your wall or desk, apps on your smartphones or tablets, or a combination of all of the above.

When you record the dates and appointments as soon as they come along, you save yourself from suffering decision fatigue and can use that memory and mental energy elsewhere. This will also ensure that you're not missing appointments, forgetting things or getting behind and stressed out on your work. You can schedule everything from important dates to figure out what outfit you're going to wear each day.

You'll have a lighter energy throughout your days knowing that you're setting and hitting deadlines. Make sure that you use a calendar that also outlines important holidays, government closures, daylight savings, season changes and the like.

Add Some Accountability to Your Life

The best way to get control of your time is simply by getting help. Tell other people about certain time commitments and goals, and make sure that they hold you accountable for finishing the job.

This way, you'll be provided with positive pressure, which ensures that you don't let yourself off the hook. Make sure to provide them the same pressure, so the people you love are sticking to their objectives and helping each other to get better.

Using these benchmarks will allow you to make the best use of your time.

This post comes from the TODAY Parenting Team community, where all members are welcome to post and discuss parenting solutions. Learn more and join us! Because we're all in this together.