Dre and I created what we call the 4 F’s (fitness, family, finances, and faith). It’s the 4 things that we focus on in order to establish balance in our lives and in our relationships.

Let’s talk about each one in detail:

1. Fitness: this refers to physical health and wellness
Whether you are a CEO or just a go-getter at work, it's easy to let things like exercise and diet go by the wayside once things get busy in the office. But your body is the only one you get and you have to take of it.

2. Family: this also includes friends and your spouse
How balanced do you feel with your family & friend time? What's your relationship like with your spouse? Your kids? How about your parents and extended family members? Your relationships should be important no matter how busy things get at work.

3. Finances: this refers to whatever you do to make an income and how you budget your money.
Even though making money is important, it is not everything. Creating boundaries for how much time you spend working or making money is such as important as managing the money you’re making.

4. Faith: Your spirituality
The final aspect of living a balanced life is your spiritual side. This could be anything from taking a walk in the woods to making a trip to church on Sunday-whatever fills up your spiritual cup.

If you focus on these 4 F’s you will be able to start organizing the different areas in your life in efforts to begin to find balance!

I wanted to share some other random tips that come to mind when I think of balance:

1. Quit Trying to Multi-Task
If you want “balance” why are you trying to do multiple things at once? Stop that right now! Multi-tasking realistically limits our production and reduces our capabilities.

2. Shut it Down
When your workday is over, let it be over; shut it down and leave or if you work from home like me, shut it down and leave the laptop in the other room haha! If you are working crazy hours every day, you will never establish a work-life balance. Become more intentional during your normal work hours to accomplish your “must-do tasks,” and if you don’t get to the other items on your to-do list, they can wait until tomorrow. If something absolutely cannot wait, make arrangements to stay late to complete it; however, this should never turn into the “norm.”

3. Give Your Best at HomePlenty of people desire a healthy work-life balance, yet as soon as they get home, they crash. If you are giving your family or spouse your “leftovers” at the end of each day, eventually, that’s exactly what you’ll get in return. Instead, do whatever you need to do to “recharge your battery,” then give them your absolute best; they deserve it, and so do you!

And if you don’t have a family or spouse, this applies to friends as well.

4. Be Absolutely Present!
Whatever you are doing, or whoever you are doing it with, be absolutely present. All too often, our lives are out of balance because we get preoccupied with so many distractions; we lose focus on what’s right in front of us. If you really want a better balance in your life, start being absolutely, totally present wherever you are.

5. Set Boundaries
For many people, it can be difficult to know how to set boundaries or say "no" to others. Of course, there are many times when saying "yes" is a great thing! But learning how to set boundaries and how to say "no" is the key to sustaining a healthy relationship with yourself and others.

So overall, determine what things in your life are a priority, schedule out the necessary time to each of those things and set boundaries so that your plate is never too full. The moment you overwhelm yourself with things, you become a disservice to the people around you and most importantly,