It's a question many people would like answered: how do you balance work and family life?
These days the line is being blurred more and more. If your boundaries between work and home life are not clear, it can impact your health.
Now there is a simple tool that can help you figure out the difficult problem.
Shonna Haugen and Erica Kostal are not only chefs at Avera's Prairie Center, but they also have a lot cooking at home. Haugen is the mother of two kids, and Kostal has an almost one-year-old.
"From the time I get off work to the time he goes to sleep if I could just squeeze another hour in there somewhere just to play with him, that would be great," Kostal said.
Even though these chefs say their jobs are very appetizing, it's not always easy to find the right mix between work and family life.
"You have to really time manage yourself. I get up an hour and a half earlier in the morning," Kostal said.
That's where this life balance wheel could come in handy.
You chose your eight top priorities to put in each section, whether it's work, family or a hobby, such as art.
"You indicate on the numbers what your level of satisfaction is from one to seven, seven being the greatest," Avera EAP Outpatient Therapist Pat Lindemann said.
Then you connect the lines and it should form a circle. You can tell what activities you might need to spend more time doing.
"If you're going to change your work-life balance, be realistic about the goals you make because you can't add something huge without taking away something," Lindemann said.
If you're struggling to find time to fit everything in, Lindemann says you might need to re-examine your priorities, set boundaries by leaving work at work and home at home and learn to say no to too many obligations.
Another tip: find a little time for a personal activity you enjoy.
"Have a cup of hot tea at night or sit with your feet up reading a book with a candle or maybe a hot bath. You really need those moments. If I take those moments for myself, I'm a better employee and I'm also better with my kids," Haugen said.
Lindemann is giving a presentation about work-life balance on Tuesday during a Sioux Falls Area Chamber of Commerce brown bag luncheon.
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