Juggling Roles
What Are you Juggling?
Topics to Cover?
• What are you juggling?
• What is out of balance?
• Coping with the juggling act: priorities, time
management, realistic expectations, believing
you have control, support.
• Practicalities/simplify your life
• Your Action Plan
• Resources
Are you out of balance?
What balls do you drop?
Work and Family Balance Quiz
• Do you successfully allocate time in your day
to the things you want to do with your family?
• Can you participate in meaningful activities
with family without feeling anxious or talking
about work?
• Do you participate in family activities without
the gnawing feeling of so much work being
left undone?
The Advantages of Being an Older
Student
• You can focus.
• You've got a head start.
• A new career is as promising to you as it is to a
20-year-old.
• You know what you want (Part 1). You've been
out in the big bad world. You've held jobs and
paid bills.
• Negative experiences can benefit you
• You know what you want (Part 2).
• You can handle (and cut through) the red
tape. Younger students are used to others
telling them where to go and what to do. You
are more used to solving your own problems,
and this can be an asset.
Time Management/Priorities
• How do you plan your time?
•
•
•
•
Planner?
Calendar on Fridge?
Time Management Chart?
Calendar on phone?
Coping with the Juggling Act
1. You can’t do it all, so set priorities
• Assess responsibilities…what can I leave out?
• No magic formula on how to balance.
• May depend on where you are at in your
life…Life has seasons
Have Realistic Expectations
• Drop expectations of perfection
• Be honest about capabilities and limitations
• Burn-out results from too high or unrealistic
expectations
3. Reevaluate Priorities
• Reassess situation frequently and make
changes
4. Easier to cope with juggling school,
work and family if…
• Supportive/flexible work environment
• Good Child Care
• Role models
5. Believe you have control
• If you believe you have no control…will give up
• Draw on self esteem to help you see situation
as a challenge. The more control you have
over your destiny, the more likely you are to
cope positively
6.Find/Keep Support
• Isolation breeds negative attitudes and
negative outcomes
• Talk with others in the same situation
7. To Relieve the pressures of demands
take a SAUNA
•
•
•
•
•
S = Set Goals
A = Accomplish
U = Unwind
N = Nurture Yourself
A = Accept Your Limits
PRACTICALITIES…SIMPLIFY YOUR LIFE
The Morning Dash
• Develop a Routine that works & stick with it.
• Lay out clothes the night before.
• Evaluate “getting Ready” time…can you be
more efficient?
• Store keys, backpack, etc. near the door.
Decluttering
• Assign everything a place.
• Use bags/baskets for each person for things
downstairs that need to go up.
• Use clear boxes, jars, bags.
• Sort mail out over recycle bin.
• Check out broken stuff…fix or get rid of.
SPEED CLEANING
• Assign some things (dusting?) as “company
only” tasks
• Let go of rules for cleaning
• Clean top to bottom
• Only clean what is dirty
LAUNDRY
•
•
•
•
Buy plenty of underwear and socks
Sort laundry as you take it off
Fold as things come out of the dryer
Reduce need for ironing and drycleaning
SHOPPING
• Find 1-2 stores where you can buy it all
• If you don’t love it, don’t buy it
• Develop a standard grocery list with columns
for “need” and “coupon”
Your Ideas to Simplify Your Life?
• ????
• ???
YOUR Action Plan
•
•
•
•
Areas where I am out of Balance
Things I must start doing
Things I must stop doing
People I need to communicate with in order to
create change…
Resources
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
BLUEprint Workshops
TRIO
Child Development Center at CSCC
Action for Children
On-line Workshops
Adult Learner Newsletter
Center for New Directions