Here's how you can balance work and family life as a working parent.

Accept that not everything will get done. Make a list of everything you must accomplish then tackle the most important thing first. If nothing else happens because a child got sick or work pulls you off track, the day is not a wash. Don't forget to celebrate, you crushed it against all odds.

Balance can be challenging, this may help instead. When I was running my business with 4 kids and 6 dogs, I tried "balance" and it didn't work. What worked however was being 100% in the current space I was in. So, instead of being 50% with my work and using the other 50% to think about all I had to do with my family, I devoted 100% to the space I was in. This way, you're so much more productive and focused, getting more done in less time. Then, move onto the next space and be 100% in that space, again, giving it all of your focus and attention.

Balancing work and family life as a working parent is a daily challenge I embrace. I set clear boundaries between work and home to be fully present in each. Effective time management tools, like schedules and to-do lists, help me stay organized. Delegating tasks lightens my load, and prioritizing self-care keeps me energized. Open communication with my employer and family about my needs and limitations is crucial. Flexibility and adaptability are key, as plans often change. Finding balance is an ongoing journey, about creating a rhythm that works for my family and me, and being kind to myself when things don’t go perfectly.

Your "to-do" list can be your best friend if you don't let it dominate you. The list is a great way to take all those thoughts, tasks, and commitments out of your short-term memory and have them all in one place. Once you have made a list, start to schedule the top 3-5 items that need to be accomplished the night before. Now important items are "handled" and you will start to feel powerful in organizing the rest of your life around those appointments. You will ALWAYS have a to-do list. But that's ok! Perfection isn't necessary. Just building a habit of tracking your commitments on paper and regularly scheduling time to do them will create peace and allow you to enjoy the busiest schedules.

As parents, we all strive for work-life balance, yet we struggle to maintain it. One key way to do this is to know what you can and cannot do, Learn to say No and set boundaries around you. Its also important to set internal boundaries, so when you have chosen to spend time with the family make sure you don't pick up the phone to check your email. Honoring the boundaries you set for yourself will help others learn to take the boundaries you set for them seriously. Rather than calling it worklife balance i would like to think that it is important to maintain work life integration. This would also mean that when you focus on one area like work there will a need to put off attention to another-family. Learn to keep moving between both.

Avoid the temptation to keep checking your work email after hours. And if you do lapse and check emails, remember you don't have to answer them as soon as you see them when you are outside of work hours.

Identify your number one self-care habit and make it happen. Mine is exercise. Other good #1s are sleep, nutrition and meditation. Be sure your self-care actually energizes you so you can take on the day. Escaping may soothe, but doesn't solve your challenge of being ready to handle your responsibilities.

Working Self-Care into your routine as a busy parent can seem impossible. Instead of putting pressure on myself to be "perfect" I try to stick to the fundamentals and build on them. Make time for movement. It doesn't need to be at the gym or anything crazy, start with a 20-minute walk after a meal, and a quick body-weight strength routine first thing in the morning. Try including the whole family so it doesn't feel like you're neglecting them to take care of yourself. Shift to a whole foods diet. It's easier than it sounds. Just opt for foods that have simple ingredients. Start by committing to one meal a day of all whole foods. By starting with these two areas, you will be surprised how much energy they produce in a short time.

The best advice I ever got as a young mom was to "build routines, not schedules" and to be flexible based on what my children needed. As adults, we can use our judgment and our years of learning social rules and expectations to understand when it's important to push through even though we might be tired, hungry, or over-stimulated. Children don't develop the capacity to do this until they are 7 years of age or older. And even then, it takes years to develop self-awareness and to learn what's expected of us. By building routines and building in time for tantrums and meltdowns, we can give ourselves the time to be the parents we imagined being and offer love and compassion to our children, even when things aren't going as planned.

By the time I started my family in my early thirties, I had many "chronic" complaints. Back pain, neck pain, headaches. I thought they were just part of life and I had to put up with the pain and fatigue. Then I started seeing a chiropractor. In just a visit or two, I had less pain and more energy and it was easier to focus. I hadn't realized how much those daily aches and pains were affecting me until I started to be less bothered by them. Schedule an appointment with a chiropractor and get evaluated. Then consider seeing them at least once per month or more if you have chronic issues to address. Chiropractic care can help your body adapt to stress and give you a great benefit for a little bit of your time and effort.