With the tug and pull of multiple demands and time always scarce, the constant juggle of priorities can leave many everyday leaders feeling overwhelmed and out of balance. CCL's Joan Gurvis and Gordon Patterson, authors of Finding Your Balance, offer these tips to regain your equilibrium.

1. Rethink Balance
Stop thinking of balance as achieving the right equation of time and effort distributed among your commitments. Instead, think of balance as aligning your behavior with your values. "Finding balance isn't really an issue of time, but an issue of choice," says Gurvis.

To align your behavior with your values, first clarify what matters most to you. Then consider your current situation: Are you spending time in a way that is consistent with your values? If not, define what you would like to do differently and create a plan to get there.

You may also begin to feel more balanced if you:

• Accept that your needs and expectations have changed over the years - and will continue to change.
• Embrace the presence of creative tension in your life; balance does not mean achieving perfection.
• Stop blaming your struggles with balance on other people, organizations and institutions.

2. Look at your Time
Time isn't the main culprit when it comes to being out of balance. Even so, understanding where your time goes will help you quickly identify time wasters - and allow you to invest more time in the areas that are most important. Here's how:

Track. Keep a log for a full week or two and jot down what you do for any period of time of an hour or more. If you're feeling constantly interrupted, track your time in smaller increments.

Understand. Write down why you did what you did. Do your actions reflect or contradict your values and goals?

Review. At the end of your time tracking, look at your notes. Consider the following questions:

• Are the activities in your log necessary for daily living, for your career, for your family, for your health or for your pleasure?
• What percentage of time did you spend in work-related activities versus family activities? How much time did you take for yourself?
• How much control or choice do you have about how you spend your time?
• What is truly beyond your control?

Decide. Put a check mark next to the activities that are truly not negotiable. Consider the rest. What do your activities say about you? Do you do what you do to please others to the exclusion of pleasing yourself? What could you change? What steps can you take now and over time?

3. Recharge
"Our capacity to work is not boundless, although we sometimes believe otherwise," says Gurvis. Build in time to recharge: relax, let go of some of your "oughts" and do something that inspires and rejuvenates you.

This article is adapted from Finding Your Balance, by Joan Gurvis and Gordon Patterson.