As professional women, many of us are struggling with finding the proper balance between our careers and our families. While our bosses demand much of us during the day, we go home to another full-time job where the “bosses" are equally as demanding. The demands of all the roles we play are having a significant and profound effect on many women. How many women do you know that are always exhausted and/or overwhelmed? A relentless schedule can often lead to increased stress and anxiety. Left unchanged, this can lead to more serious health consequences. The real question is: Can we really have it all and be everything to everyone? Or is this just a dream? Why do so many women struggle with working and having a family? Can we get ourselves out of this chaos and live a balanced life? With some effort and determination, I believe we can work to bring balance into our lives. These suggestions focus on family life and can help you take the first step in achieving a healthy balance.

•Identify what your ideal balanced life looks like – This will be different for everyone. Do you want to have a family night every week to just enjoy being with each other? Do you want to have time for yourself to relax and get away from it all? Visualizing what you want from life will make it easier for you to get there.

•Clarify your goals and priorities – Write down what matters most to you. Is it spending quiet time each day reading to your children? Or do you want them involved in a variety of different activities? Expressing what is most important to you is useful when scheduling extra-curricular activities.

•Be selective about commitments – Use the list of goals and priorities that you developed above to decide if this is something that you feel is important. If it’s not, pass on that commitment. Learning to say “no" and mean it is a very empowering tool that can and should be used liberally. If you want to spend more time with your children, don’t volunteer to be on a committee you have no interest in. The reality of life is that we only have 24 hours a day – use them carefully.

•Hire help if you are able – If you can afford to, hire help with certain tasks around the house. You would be amazed how much time you save by having a housekeeper come a couple of times a month to do the heavier cleaning. Having a teenager cut your grass once a week is a relatively inexpensive way to save more time. Many people are available to run errands or do other chores around the house.

•Take time for yourself – This is probably the most important suggestion of all. However, it can have the greatest impact and is most often neglected. Taking a few minutes to yourself each day helps you feel refreshed, recharged and ready to face everything else.

Commit to taking the first step this week in transforming your life. Take a few minutes for yourself today and start to think about what matters most to you and move forward from there. Change won’t necessarily happen overnight, but once you get started, the momentum will grow. Go ahead – get started!