You have a lot of work deadlines and a busy schedule. How can you find time for your personal life?

Balancing work deadlines and personal life can be challenging. Here are some strategies I use: I Identify urgent and important tasks. Focus on what truly matters and allocate time accordingly. I set specific time blocks for tasks. Dedicate uninterrupted periods to work, and then switch to personal time. I set clear boundaries between work and personal life. Remember, effective time management isn't about doing more—it's about doing what matters most efficiently. Prioritise self-care and find a balance that works for you.

In order to find time for your personal life we can set boundaries for spending time with workmates by sharing our availability time with our managers and workmates, spending time for self care and doing the things we love during those time outs besides asking for help from peers and family when needed.

I am very strict about keeping my work life completely separate from my personal life and vice versa. The two only overlap on very rare occasions. In my work life I use a diary for my to do list, my deadlines with reminders about them (and which I also use for scrapbooking on those days when I feel stressed ??). My daily goal when in the office, is to work smart (as opposed to just hard), so as to take care of all immediate and urgent tasks, progress with my long-term tasks in order to move towards the deadline in as a relaxed manner as possible. I have let go of the notion that my desk must be clear before I leave for the day years ago; it is impossible in practice for most professions and only acts as a source of continuous stress.

Peer support was incredibly beneficial to me when I was working in employment with an incredible team - all of which had different skills. By sharing our experiences, we were able to offer alternative ideas on tackling challenges, helped see things from various points of view and could also offer to support on projects that we enjoyed and others did not. This led to creative ways of managing deadlines and often receiving help from peers if required, in order to make a deadline. Peer support can be an incredible way to strengthen your team, performance and hit tight deadlines because it means you work together on a completely different level.

Years ago after returning from my first maternity leave, I remember feeling there was no time for myself between work and my new baby. At this time, peer support was such a blessing as they were able to offer me an external perspective on things I was using my time on, that weren't actually necessary. Having this perspective helped me delegate and delete tasks that were not necessarily for me, creating more time for myself.

Peer support can be found in your workplace - especially those organisations that offer employee resource groups for various groups of people. Alternatively, finding local groups that meet regularly who have similar challenges and interests or a group/1-2-1 coaching program can make a world of difference.