Juggling Life’s Multiple Hats 
Juggling too much in your day? We have so many roles to play in our daily lives. My primary daily hats are: Mommy, wife, and teacher. One hat I must remind myself to wear is: ME (a person/woman). It is easy to get lost in the hustle and bustle of family and work responsibilities, errands, and chores. Life is hard, no matter what type of work or family situation one has. Everyone has unique challenges, and also blessings.
My tagline: “Earn income, spend time with the kids & homeschool- all while wearing PJ’s” is a summary of the several hats I wear, but that is not all of me, and it is not a smooth ride every day.
I will tell you that it is possible to juggle it all, and each day is a different feeling. Some days are so smooth, like an expert circus performer. Other days, I feel like hiding in my room, crying, or screaming from the madness. I’m sure we all have some days like those. Every single day teaches me something new. Here are the main tips help manage a balanced life:
1. Schedule slots of time for priorities 
There is never enough time in the day to do all that we want to accomplish. This is not a suggestion that will magically give you time to do it all. If you figure it out, please share. 🙂 But, I have learned that if I do not give myself specific blocks of time to accomplish various things, I will more likely spend more time on one thing, and not make time for another task. I use the phrase “blocks of time” loosely because we cannot schedule every minute of the day as unexpected moments arise. I will tell myself, for example, I would like to have about an hour to do laundry with the kids. Or, I would like to plan about two hours dedicated to work. Or, I plan to have a half-hour block of time to read. Usually I map out 2-3 high priority tasks that I would like to schedule in my day for sure. My “for sure” blocks of time include family time, and also “me” time. I will go crazy if I do not sneak that in. So always try to make time for yourself, and what you love to do!
2. Mix it up
When I say “mix it up” I mean take breaks, and change up the activities. I know that there are times when deadlines must be met, but it is essential for everyone to take a break from a task or project, refresh the minds, and come back with a clear mind. Pushing ourselves too hard is only going to wear us down even further.
3. Multi-tasking can be a good thing.. or not?
I love to multi-task. I feel like I can get so much done because I have all these tasks that I’m managing at once. I multi-task with the hope of finishing them all at once.
But I have learned, that sometimes, (depending on the situations), multi-tasking can actually slow down productivity. There are moments when all tasks have to be put to a halt, and then sadly, none of them can be checked off as completed. On the other hand, if the focus was on one of the tasks at a time, and all of a sudden something arises to pause the list, at least one of the tasks could have been checked off.
The quality of work and focus can improve when not so many processes are being done at once. 
Do I still multi-task? Yes I do. But my kids will catch me sometimes, pointing out that I got distracted because I lost sight of one thing, when I was trying to move forward with another task.
We are definitely in an age of speed, and efficiency. But sometimes, we do need to slow down, and really put all of our focus on one thing at a time.
4. Let it go
As my Frozen fanatic daughters love to sing, “Let it go,” I realize that those three words are very sound advice. When we feel overwhelmed because of so much that needs to be done, we cannot help but feel incompetent or discouraged at times. Although it is easier said than done, we do need to let go of some of that stress, and worry that we just could not have the perfectly balanced day. We just cannot finish all that we want to every single day. It is so hard, and even though I am writing this tip, I do not perfectly apply this every day. I am only human. But I do know it is something to work on.
The same goes for mishaps that happen during the day. We try to handle them the best we can at the time, and then we must move on. Let it go. Tomorrow is a new day.
5. Give thanks
When we take the time to reflect on our blessings, and all that we have to be thankful for, all of this stress melts away. We try to take several moments throughout the day to just pause and think about what we are grateful for. Yes, it can be stressful to have to be a parent, or to be an employee, or a spouse, but most importantly, we are also very lucky to be able to say that we are those things as well.
