Work-life balance is likely one of the most frustrating challenges parents face. Constant demands like rent or mortgage payments, school fees, food, utilities, and others mean that work is essential to provide the necessities of life.

However, it’s difficult when it feels like home life, self-care, or family time are suffering. You know you need to balance it out, but it seems impossible. So here are five tips for achieving work-life balance.

1. Take Breaks

Working is essential, but so is your health and your family. This can mean actually using your lunch break to decompress and enjoy your food. It can be tempting to work through lunch or work while eating. You may have goals, like buying that new Ford for sale, going to Disneyland, or even making ends meet, but they’re not worth risking burnout and fatigue.

Even small one-minute breaks throughout the day can help you reset your brain, reduce stress, and work more efficiently. By taking care of yourself at work, you will take more energy and peace home with you. If you often take work home, be sure not to do so every day. Take a break to spend time with yourself or with your family. Listening to podcasts like Better Than Yesterday during these breaks can provide helpful insights and inspiration, as well as welcome breaks from your work. Of course, you might also choose to read a few chapters of a book or take a walk if you can afford the time during your breaks – whatever works for you!

2. Prioritize Your Wellbeing

You can’t work or help your family if you’re not okay. Taking the time to exercise, meditate, connect, or be grateful daily are easy ways to care for yourself and avoid burnout. Your emotional, physical, and mental well-being are all important and worthy of your time.

When you take the time to do these things, you are putting your body first, and your body is the most important thing. Whether you enjoy going for a 5k run, or stopping in for hair removal in Longwood, FL (or wherever you are based) for a self-esteem boost. All of it comes together to help you get through the days, weeks, months, and years.

3. Create Boundaries

Learning how to say no is okay. If you say yes to everything anyone ever asks of you, you will not have any balance in your life. Learning when to say “no” can help you achieve this balance by not overloading your hypothetical plate.

Another way to set boundaries is to leave work at work. When you come home, put your phone on silent or configure the settings so you don’t receive notifications. Configure an email that lets people know after work hours that you are offline and will respond the next day.

4. Care for Your Relationships

Everyone needs love and support, but if you’re constantly working, you won’t be able to build any relationships. Strong relationships enrich your life and can even physically benefit your health. When you invest in others, they are also there to support you and can help you handle your daily stresses and challenges.

5. Schedule Important Activities

Sometimes family time or alone time don’t happen if you don’t schedule a time to do them. Work them in, just like you would with work activities. Schedule your meditation time, a family outing, or a moment to call far-away family members or friends.

You Can Start Achieving a Work-Life Balance With These 5 Tips

Finding a work-life balance isn’t as easy as it sounds, but it isn’t impossible. Choose a goal to focus on, then figure out how you can best achieve that goal. Work on things one at a time, and little by little you’ll come closer to a good work-life balance.