Juggling: Not Just for Circus Clowns

You know the feeling when there are multiple competing priorities? You have a deadline at the office, little Timmy has baseball practice, and your boss is calling to give you a new project. The house needs to be cleaned, someone needs to pick Suzy up from soccer and you forgot to take something out for dinner.

Ball Juggling - it's a real thing for working parents. A piece of advice I was given once that has stuck with me is this: You will drop balls. It is inevitable; they will be both personal and career related. You need to learn how to identify the balls that are plastic versus the balls that are glass.

The work deadline - is it a firm deadline? What are the consequences if it is dropped? Is Timmy's practice a plastic ball? Can you miss practice if you promise to attend the game Saturday? Can Suzy walk home or can you take the call with your boss while picking her up? These are the kinds of questions to begin asking yourself as you identify the balls that are plastic versus those that are glass.

Glass balls are those that are devastating to break; either the clean up will be long and messy or it is too important to drop. The big show. Championship games. The presentation with the CEO. The meeting with the biggest prospect. Plastic balls are those that will bounce back up and not have much to clean up. A spotless house. A repetitive call you don't contribute on. A practice the neighbor has offered to do pick up and drop off for.

Learning how to identify your own personal glass and plastic balls will help you to establish parameters and boundaries. Doing everything *perfectly* is unsustainable and will not be healthy for you in the long term. Decide for yourself what is plastic versus what is glass. For me a glass ball is a weekly dinner with my family. I cook, bring out the fine china, and we catch up. The day may change depending on work, sport, and social calendars but it is a non negotiable. A plastic ball is my emails; if I can answer each one that is great but if I can't get through them all in a day it won't cause chaos.

Can you identify your glass balls? What about your plastic? What are your non negotiables?

- Morgan