Library Worklife

Volume 3, No. 9 • September 2006

Work/Life

Juggling Life and Home Responsibilities

By Angela L. Green

I remember my first day of class as a Master’s in Library and Information Science student at Dominican University. The professor asked each of us in the class to name the accomplishments we would like to achieve within the next two years while in the program. I naively said I would like to get married, have a baby, and finish my MLS, all while working full-time. My classmates laughed and said that I was crazy, but I was determined to do it. Needless to say within that two year period, I worked full-time, completed my MLS, planned a wedding, got married, had a baby and commuted to work/school one hour each way (uphill in the snow barefoot.just kidding).

I was able to achieve my goals with perseverance, determination, commitment and old-fashioned hard work. As women, we have many responsibilities we juggle every day. Some days we are energized and we feel we have accomplished much. Other days we struggle just to get ourselves out of bed in the morning. It is difficult to hold a balance of this great number of responsibilities.

As a library development consultant with a two-year old child, I resemble the juggling act in the local circus. A typical day in my life begins at 5 a.m., when I wake and leave the house to exercise. After the workout, I clean the house, shower, wake my son, get him ready for the day, make breakfast, drive the baby to the sitter, and go to work, all by 9 a.m. Sometimes I go in before 7:30 a.m. if I have early morning site visits two hours away. In our household we only have one vehicle, so my husband rides to work with me. This works well, as we work for the same library system, but I juggle his schedule as well, especially on the days I’m traveling and must leave early in the morning. My responsibilities at work vary from day to day; however, I am always visiting libraries, answering questions, planning continuing education workshops, or working on special projects. The end of the day for me is no different from the beginning; it’s full of responsibilities and other duties.

It is not easy balancing all of the responsibilities you may have, however there are things we can do to help organize them in order to accomplish more. I have a friend, coach, and mentor, Joe Esposito of Health Solutions, who says, "Once you realize life is hard, it becomes easy." Instead of worrying about how everything will be accomplished, jump in with both feet, have a positive attitude, and finish what you can. Take pride in the things you do accomplish in a day, do not dwell on the things you didn’t.

Developing your time management skills will help you to accomplish more, attain your goals, and feel victorious in this battle of finding the right balance to the never-ending list of responsibilities. One suggestion is to make a list of everything that must be accomplished by the end of the day. Next, prioritize the list. I’m not a huge fan of Stephen Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People; however, I believe in the third habit of "First Things First." Once the priorities are set, determine the urgent ones and do those first, then the next most urgent priorities on down to the littlest tasks and you will accomplish more.

I heard a story once about a man who had a few big rocks and many little rocks. He decided to pour the little rocks into the bucket first; when it came time to add the big rocks there was no room, and he was very disappointed because the big rocks were his favorite. I liken this to the priorities in our lives. If we worry about trying to accomplish all of the little things and never pay attention to the big things, they’re not all going to fit. Start with the big rocks, then add the small rocks so they trickle down to fill in the cracks between the big ones and they all fit into the bucket.

It doesn’t matter if you are a stay-at-home mom, the director of a library, or somewhere in between, we all struggle to balance our home and work life. Remember to set the priorities, first things first, be committed and have a positive attitude, and you will be successful at attaining or achieving your goals no matter what they may be!

Angela Green is the Library Development Consultant, Alliance Library System, East Peoria, Illinois.

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