7 Tips for Finding Balance in Your Life

As young adults, we are encouraged to pursue an education, marry and start a family, work hard, and take care of our bodies. We’re also supposed to make time to be social, practice spiritual habits, and serve others—all while enjoying some fun and relaxation.

Feels impossible, doesn’t it?

I don’t know about you, but I am all too familiar with the busyness and stressfulness of a crazy schedule. Some days I wish I could just make the clock stop.

Thankfully, there are some practices that have helped me find balance amid my numerous responsibilities.

Tip 1: Commit to the Moment

Balance doesn’t mean you give equal amounts of time to every demand of your life. Most likely there will be things you spend more time on and put more energy into, and that’s OK.

In a Facebook video message, Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said: “We can only do one thing in a given moment. So in the moment that I’m attending to my family, I’m neglecting church and employment and maybe even myself. When I’m exercising, I’m neglecting some things. And we can drive ourselves crazy if in every moment we’re worried about all the things that we’re not doing. … So if I’m at home, I need to be home. If you’re serving in church, then be engaged in service.”¹

Tip 2: Find What Works for You

To find personal balance amid your responsibilities, it is important to first set aside any comparisons. Balance in your life may look different from the balance in another person’s life. Just because your roommate loves being busy every minute of the day does not mean you have to be that way too.

I’ve been the person who sat at home reading or watching TV while my roommate hopped from work to school to institute, and sometimes I wondered if maybe my life was pathetic compared to my roommate’s life. But I had to remind myself that I do my mental health a favor and function better if I don’t have a completely booked schedule. My version of balance was different from hers. And that was perfectly OK.

Tip 3: Write Down Your Schedule

Writing down your schedule in a notebook, journal, calendar, or phone can help you see exactly how much time you have to spend on certain tasks and how much time you have left for other things.

Keeping a schedule helps me to simplify and stay organized. Just as Doctrine and Covenants 88:119 says, “Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing; and establish a house, even … a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God.”

Tip 4: Give Yourself a Trial Period

Sometimes we become overwhelmed with making decisions or adding to our schedule, and we forget that we can give ourselves space to change our minds if something isn’t working out or is overcomplicating things. When trying something new, allow yourself a trial period where you figure out if something is going to work in your schedule or if it will become overwhelming.

For example, I once decided to join a student journal at my university, but I was a little afraid of committing to it out of fear of it overwhelming me. I finally decided to just test it out for a while, and I told myself that if I looked forward to going to the meetings and if I still had time to get my other work done, then I should keep it up.

Although there was one meeting I had to miss, the journal ended up being a great experience for me. I’m glad I took advantage of the opportunity instead of letting my fear of commitment keep me away.

Tip 5: Make Occasional Sacrifices

You might need to give up your game night with friends to study for finals. Or you might need to spend a little less time on an essay so you can attend the ward dinner. When you’re running low on time for everything on your to-do list, ask yourself what you’re OK with sacrificing and remind yourself of the big picture. Reading Alma 34:32 can help you refocus on the eternal perspective when you’re deciding what to sacrifice: “For behold, this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God; yea, behold the day of this life is the day for men to perform their labors.”

For example, sometimes I remind myself that I don’t need to work an extra hour for a perfect grade on an assignment (a B won’t ruin my future), and I can use that time to do something else. You can decide—with God’s help—what things can be sacrificed and what is a priority. What you sacrifice in one situation may not be what you sacrifice in another.

Tip 6: Set Aside 20 Minutes

Sometimes we think that we have to schedule everything on our to-do list in big chunks of time. But 20 minutes of exercising, reading your scriptures, or even taking a treat to someone in need can really improve your day. Even five minutes of progress on something is better than nothing.

When I was attending my first semester of college after my mission, I was taking a difficult Spanish class. After my first two tests for the class, I realized I wasn’t putting enough time into studying and practicing. So I woke up 20 minutes earlier every day for a little extra time to study. That small, 20-minute change made a huge impact on my confidence and progress in the class.

Tip 7: Do Your Best

The most important thing to remember is to do your best as you seek your own balance in a busy life. If you feel the Spirit prompting you that your balance is off, take action to discover what steps you can take to reestablish balance.

President M. Russell Ballard, Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, once spoke of finding balance with life’s demands. He reminded us to “do the basic things and, before you realize it, your life will be full of spiritual understanding that will confirm to you that your Heavenly Father loves you. When a person knows this, then life will be full of purpose and meaning, making balance easier to maintain.”²

I’m not quite where I want to be with balancing my schedule—I grow anxious when I fear I’m not spending enough time with the people I love, and I’m still figuring out how to make time for everything I need to do and everything I want to do. But these practices have helped me realize I don’t need to stop the clock to feel satisfied with how I’m using my time. When I rely on Heavenly Father to guide me, achieving peaceful balance in all areas of my life becomes so much easier.

Notes

1. David A. Bednar, Facebook, Apr. 19, 2021, facebook.com/davida.bednar.
2. M. Russell Ballard, “Keeping Your Life in Balance,” Liahona, Sept. 2012, 50.