Me, on a night like this one, a year ago: Work ‘til 8, leave my office with at least 5 different projects that really needed to be done today still unfinished, be stressed out, pick up takeout on the way home, eat too much of it, probably include some kind of dessert, walk the dog, and then sit on the couch watching TV.

Me, tonight: Work ‘til 8, leave my office with at least 5 different projects that really needed to be done today still unfinished, be stressed out, come home, chat with husband, work out, get actual stress relief, cook quick healthy dinner, no dessert, then watch previously recorded episode of Lost. 

Tonight’s itinerary has got to be the more healthy one, but at the same time, making time to work out and eating so late means that I stay up later than I should, have less time to spend with my husband and dog, and am just a little bit farther behind on sleep and rest and relaxation than is good for me.  It’s a tricky line to walk, particularly when I am as busy as I am at work right now.

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m ambitious.  I love my job, and I want to be successful at it.  I want the ever increasing responsibility, the new challenges and the high profile projects.  And I don’t mind working hard to get all of those things.  But at some point I’ve got to figure out how to balance it all.  How to tackle the big projects without staying at the office until 8 pm regularly and getting myself stressed out. How to fit in everything I need to do and still stay healthy.  Exercising regularly is an important part of controlling my diabetes, so missing a workout comes close to being like missing a dose of my medicine, and I can’t afford that.  Yes, of course I can (and do) take a night off here and there, and hopefully once I get down to my goal weight, I’ll be able to cut down on the working out a little bit, because the thinner I get, the more stable my blood sugar should get.  And who knows what will happen when I try to add kids into the picture. 
It’s probably just as well that I take some time to figure out how to balance my life as it is now, before I go and complicate it even more.

How do you juggle everything that you do?  Got any tips for me?