Work and Life Balance

Keeping it all together, when it comes to balancing your family responsibilities with work-related ones, can be a daunting task. Busy moms need all the help they can get, from supportive family members and friends to following the right diet and getting enough exercise, along with some much needed down time to decompress and rejuvenate. Use some tried and true strategies, as well as some nutritional supplements, to keep your home and work life at a manageable level.

Use all the resources out there to make your life easier. If you have relatives living nearby, enlist them in your plan. A college age cousin most likely would love some extra income and gets along well with the kids: have them pick up the kids one day a week after school and let them entertain the little ones for some pocket money. If they need a project to do, have them clear out your over-stuffed garage or the kids' old clothes and toys then throw a family-wide yard sale. If you depend on your mom for babysitting, make sure she feels appreciated with a home-cooked meal on the weekend or put a nice roast and some root veggies in a crock pot before you leave for work, then you can all sit down to a hearty meal when you walk in the door after five.

Use technology to make your social life easier and more fun for some much-needed decompression after work. Join up for email alerts from discount websites, such as LivingSocial and GroupOn, which offer fun and unique packages for families and singles alike. From mommy and me exercise sessions to ceramics classes, you can find fun activities at deep discounts. These offers can even be given as gifts to helpful neighbors or friends; just watch the expiration date on them. Moms are generally called upon to answer the eternal question, "What are we doing this weekend?" after a busy week at work, and having several of these offers on tap will make the answer a lot easier.

After the age of 35, calcium levels begin to drop in women, and bone loss becomes a risk factor over time, leading to osteoporosis, especially in Caucasian and Asian women. Unfortunately, the closest some working women get to eating a diet high in calcium is fitting a non-fat mocha into their day. If this is you, consider a dietary supplement, such as Carlson Labs' Chewable Calcium Tablets in yummy vanilla. Each pleasant-tasting tablet gives you 250 milligrams of calcium and can be taken four times a day to get the 1,000-mg. recommended daily allowance of calcium for pre-menopausal women.  The calcium needs of older women rise to prevent bone loss; these ladies need a daily allowance of 1,200 to 1,500 milligrams. Consider Progressive Labs' Coral Calcium Capsules, which offer 1,400 milligrams of this necessary mineral in a vegetarian form made from fossilized coral imported from Okinawa and harvested above sea level to be environmentally sustainable. Whether you're running after your teens or your grandkids, knowing you're getting sufficient amounts of calcium in your diet takes the stress out of all the other things you have to think about in your busy day. 

You may have never heard of the flowering herb, vitex; but if premenstrual symptoms, such as bloating and mood swings, get in the way of keeping your life flowing like a well-oiled machine, you might want to check it out. Since the ancient Greeks, this Mediterranean native plant has been valued for its medicinal properties, and in Germany, it's still used by homeopaths to treat PMS issues. Consider Nature's Way Vitex Capsules that contain 400 milligrams of the vitus agnus castus, or chaste tree. This herbal supplement builds up slowly in your system, so the suggested dosage is two to three capsules for the first eight to 12 weeks then once daily thereafter for best results. 

For more great ways to keep your health and wellness goals part of your busy life, check out these other nutritional supplements.