When I was a little girl, the most stressful part of my day was figuring out which Barbie got to play with Ken in the doll house.

Life was care-free until I was about 12 years old, when I discovered the drive to succeed coupled with the desire to blossom into a social butterfly (I know, I was an early bloomer).

As we get older, our lives become consumed with many responsibilities headed by our personal initiatives. We learn to devote ourselves to various avenues (other than toys of course) including further education, a career path, friends, family, and possibly a significant other.

One important thing to remember is balance.

Balance is key in maintaining healthy relationships, while laying out a steady path of success for yourself. Since graduating from McMaster and waving goodbye to my university bubble, life has presented some significant changes.

Keeping myself centred while investing all I can into my career, planning for an MBA, seeing my tight knit group of friends often, providing enough TLC to my boyfriend, and spending mandatory time with my two families can be quite hectic to juggle.

Here are a few things I do to keep the scale balanced. You should try them too!

• Monthly movie dates with the girls or game nights with the boys.
• A monthly pot-luck gathering with all of your closest friends…get together for some good food and drinks, don’t forget the board games!
• An annual vacation away with some buddies. If your budget is a bit tight, plan a roadtrip! Always a simple but fun adventure where a group of you can pile into a car, share a hotel room and embark on a new journey.
• Sunday evening family dinners…just you, the parents, your siblings, and some good conversation (make sure that TV is turned off)!
• Attend all family reunions. It’s a great way to get back in touch with long lost family members, and you get to see your little cousins all grown up, not to mention share any relationship and career/school updates with everyone.
• Most importantly, some “me time” where you devote at least one full day a month to spending time with the most important person in your life, you. Whether it may be a day of indulging in shopping, watching a line up of your favourite movies, or grabbing a good book and relaxing with a cup of joe…make sure you make time every so often to decompress.

You often hear frazzled individuals confessing, “Oh, if only I could go back in time, life was so much easier.” Sure life was simpler when we were younger, but compared to the successful endeavours and rewarding relationships I experience on a daily basis, I actually look forward to aging! Developing my life-long journey while adding a spectacle of radical events and gaining wisdom along the way sounds more appealing than sitting in a sandbox all day, don’t you think?

As long as you allocate ample time to all of the significant pieces in your life, you will surely feel fulfilled while maintaining a healthy balance between your love for your career, and your love for the important people in your life.