3 Ways to Manage Your Multiple Life Roles Effectively

There are days that  I wake up not sure of what role I will assume for the day. This is probably because of the multiple life roles I try to juggle in one lifetime. I am a wife and mother whose main job is with a BPO company. I am also a financial consultant with a mission, a writer/blogger with a passion, a community volunteer with what I hope is conviction, and a religious who serves by faith. Somewhere in there is a woman who still loves to dabble in fashion, teaching, dancing, and baking at any given chance. Is it even possible to manage these multiple life roles effectively without ending up mentally drained and physically spent?

Here are three ways I manage my multiple life roles:

Understand/Prioritize

The key to managing multiple life roles is to understand the main and supporting roles we have to play. Sometimes we are given a choice, most of the times not. In understanding our respective roles, acceptance and happiness cannot be far behind. From there, we prioritize because it is absolutely impossible to give equal time to all.

In my case, being a wife and mother is the priority for now. I know, because I discovered after a series of events that I can give up my other roles for this when push comes to shove. With this discovery however comes the realization that there are other roles that I need to play to be a good wife and mother. I would have to do my share to provide for their needs while continuing to develop myself based on my genuine interests and personal values.

Segregate/Integrate

In handling multiple life roles, it is essential to know when to segregate or integrate them. You cannot use work time to promote your business but you can certainly use break times and bonding times with workmates for the purpose. The important thing to remember when determining possible conflict in interest is to answer the question: Am I shortchanging someone when I do this now?

My roles as a Pru Life financial consultant and as an online writer can easily collide if I will choose to bash other financial product providers through my articles. It would be best for me to use the online forum as a way to provide information to the public for the financial products I am offering. In that way, I get to send out my message to prospective clients while gaining a reputation for balanced writing.

Even my volunteer work as a Board Member in our village can go wrong if I allow my religion to interfere with my decision. I can still hold on to the principles of right and wrong based on my faith without committing an injustice towards people of a different faith. The need to dress up for proper representation at work can wreck our family budget if I will not take time to find the best value for money. In short, the life roles we have can be segregated or integrated when applicable.

Work Hard/Play Harder

There is an unwritten rule that we have the responsibility to be good at every role we ask for. We have no business asking for roles when we have no intention of following through. It just adds to the stress and guilt in not being able to come up to expectations.

We work hard to achieve goals and results. We play harder by enjoying the fruits of these accomplishments. This is one way of preventing career and personal burnout due to continued stress and pressure.

My Say

Having multiple life roles can result to a lot of conflict in time and decisions. It is therefore necessary to determine if it would be in your best interest to keep it or to let go. We just have to admit that there are some tasks that are not for us and can be done much better by others.

For roles however that only us can do for ourselves, our family, our community, or even our country, we are asked to persevere and perform them in the best way that we can.