Life Balance: Slow-mo GR starting Monday the 3rd of Feb
Hey all!
On Monday the 3rd of Feb we're starting a SLOW-MO GR chat to do with how to maintain life balance.
Between work...
school stuff (particularlly for those of you going back to school now!)...
friends and family...
There's a lot to keep balanced! It can be easy to spread ourselves thin, or to over invest in one area and not enough in others -including the time you spend on yourself!
So join us for this Slow-Mo GR starting on Monday the 3rd of Feb to chat about how to maintain balance in your life!
Unfortunately, I always seem to have work at this time but I'll try, as always, to read and comment on things retrospectively!
Before the GR begins on Monday, i'd just like to remind everyone that if at all you find this conversation distressing or you feel like you need to talk to someone, about an issue then you can call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800 or use their webchat and email services found on their respective sites. The links can be found here 
If you are new here then welcome! Have a quick peek at our community guidelines you can find them here! .
Definitely something I can use with, can’t wait!
Just going to tag some people who might be interested! I promise that i'll (maybe) stop spamming this thread after that! 
@_youngflicker_ @Anzelmo @Bee @Blah_Blah @Blurryphaced @comerfordius @drpenguin @Eden1717 @ayrc_1904 @Esperanza67 @gmusicj @goldilocks @Hungryturtle22 @JDF12 @Jessica123 @Justin_dufner @liv1611 @lilliannxo @ApplesRoses @MB95 @Milkninja222 @MisoBear @SomeoneNADJS @statuscaring @stargirl @Tay100 @Tiny_leaf @xXLexi_Lou122Xx @WheresMySquishy @Hozzles @roseisnotaplant @May_ @mrmusic
hey @xXLexi_Lou122Xx and @Tay100 ! 😄 this one's a slow-motion chat running all week so we can tag you as questions go up if you'd like?
Soooo can I clarify, slo mo chats is where we have all week to answer questions, right?
Hi everyone! Welcome to our GR!
Here's our first question of the week:
What things do you commit your time to? e.g. school work, family, hobbies. Do you find it easy or hard to manage your schedule?
It feels great to be a part of the forum again! Great question.
This year I am committing my time towards making sure I go to work shifts and my weekly psychologist and therapy group sessions. I also make sure that I have food to eat as I am trying to avoid going to restaurants and buying take away too much. Sleep, eating healthy and looking after my wellbeing is what I am trying to focus on. I also include lots of video game time with friends, board game group sessions, watching netflix with my boyfriend and hanging our and chatting to my friends to talk about what's going on in our lives. It hasn't really started up yet but I also get involved in sport to get myself exercising.
I do find my schedule can change depending on how I am feeling. I have been super busy at times with work clashes that sometimes I haven't been able to go to my face to face psychologist. I try and compensate fkr that by contacting a helpline or chatting with friends when I am available.
Some weeks are easy as I have less on but things are starting to pick up and I find being in a regular routine really helps me to stay on track.
Loving the responses thus far people (I shall join in after this post 😛 )
Time for our second Question 🙂
How do you know when your life is out of balance? What do you notice about yourself and your headspace?
Tagging those in the GR already
@WheresMySquishy @ecla34 @xXLexi_Lou122Xx @MisoBear @recharging_introvert
Tagging those who have logged in the last 3 days
@Kasiak@mfgporkghp@ejfijiejg@xXLexi_Lou122Xx@Aubreyfaye@SomeoneNADJS@Yermolai@Tiny_leaf@TaylaMH@QooVie@Mud-Ball123@scared01@MB95@Anonymous@drpenguin@MisoBear@_youngflicker_@Eden1717@your_favourite_bi_girl_@js6664078@Blake0812@bigavocado@Pasta@recharging_introvert@Tay100@Hozzles@dragon3@AlyssinWonderland@Laskojean@simelinelien@Nottara@gmusicj@WheresMySquishy@Bananatime04@ecla34@CantStopGottaStop@AlexStar0106@Clementine75@Animallover2003@liv1611
Question 2: How do you know when your life is out of balance? What do you notice about yourself and your headspace?
When my mood gets irritable, I get stressed, and I doubt myself and my ability to cope with things that I'm normally ok at and can work through procedurally. I tend to envy and feel jealous and wanting of what other people can do or have or their circumstances; a myriad of feelings that is not often discussed even in safe spaces, I think.
Hi @ecla34 and @Bee - I absolutely love this idea for a GR. Life balance is definitely something that is a constant juggle for me, sometimes I feel like I'm doing the balance/ life juggle pretty successfully, and sometimes I feel like the wheels are about to fall off spectacularly!
I have quite a bit to balance some weeks - responsibilities as a parent of two kids (I'm not sure if I've mentioned them much here, but I have two small humans at home), and the general cooking/ washing/ helping with homework/ swimming /music/ parties/ wonderful chaos that goes with that! I'm lucky enough to work PT here in a job that I love, up until last year I was juggling uni, casual work and family. In some ways I'm really relieved to have graduated, in other ways I actually miss the challenge and craziness that comes with studying. So at some point in the future I may do some postgrad study, but not just yet.
I also try and get some exercise in every week and have committed to starting to swim again, which should be fun! Mostly my exercise is walking or the occasional run.
I also do a bit of volunteering when I can, I help to run an intergenerational playgroup which I absolutely love
And then I try and spend time with my family and friends when I can, see the occasional band and try and finish my adult paint by numbers (which I've been working on for over a month LOL)
How do you know when your life is out of balance? What do you notice about yourself and your headspace?
This is such a great question @Bee - I think it's so important to get to know ourselves, and know the signs for when our headspace may be slipping a bit.
For me, the first thing I notice when my life is out of balance is that I get crankier! I become more short tempered, which I really don't like, and find myself getting irritated about little things. I also find myself getting less organised if I'm overwhelmed, which is always a sign for me that I need to take a step back, and breathe - so if I stop using my diary/ to- do lists, that's a sign for myself that I'm probably getting a bit overwhelmed and out of balance.
And my youngest sister went to girls brigade last night, which was just adorable! I went there in year 3, but didn’t like it. But she’s so adorable in her uniform!
@Tay100 is that a Sam and Cat gif? She looks familiar... 🙂
2. I start to notice that my mood does change a lot, and I become that big emotional rollercoaster that all teens go on at this age. As @Tay100 mentioned, I also doubt myself. But when I start doubting, its about my ability to complete a task/assignment/exam. You all know what school/uni is like, with everything getting close together!
I also get physically exhausted, and with my health condition, I can spiral out of control pretty quickly. Being in my body isn’t fun, when I get worked up about things and out of life balance.
Love the gif @Bee! It’s satisfying, watching someone colour in so neatly! That’s what I like about Colouring. But I also like blending colours, when I’m using pencils.
Self care is definitely a big thing when you become busy. Always take a 10 minute break when you’ve done... maybe an hour of work (school/uni). Then it should help to lessen the stress on you. At least that’s what Ive been told... 😐
@xXLexi_Lou122Xx I thought it was pretty cool too! I do love blended colours too! I am getting better with some blends 😛
I'm good with procrastinating and taking breaks at the moment - not so much with actually working but yes it's called Pomodoro technique, where you focus for a length of time and then a short break. I tried it in high school when I did yr12 and it helped me. I do know that when I get really focused, that if I take a break it can ruin my focus so when I'm engrossed in it, I stay there and I find it helps more, but if I'm stressing then breaks work well for me 🙂
You're welcome @Hozzles 🙂
It's great to see you back @mspaceK
What are the benefits of actively maintaining a healthy life balance?
While there are common benefits for the general population like reduced stress and reduced risk of burnout. There can also be individual benefits, eg for me, I know that when things are balanced I feel calm, and I feel a bit more confident within myself as things feel controlled and balanced.
@Tay100 and @Bee i love the pomodoro method too for studying! when I can convince myself to use it 😛
@mspaceK that's such awesome self-reflection! Such a good point about balance allowing you to cope with ups and downs 😄
I saw that there were a couple of questions from users earlier in this thread so I thought i'd answer before they get lost!
@Tay100 yep! A slow-mo GR is where we post questions one at a time over a week and people can respond whenever they like 🙂 We like running these as well as live GRs because not everyone can make the time or they find the pace a bit fast
@dragon3 hey sorry! what was it that you're unsure about?
How do you know when your life is out of balance? What do you notice about
yourself and your headspace?
How do you know when your life is out of balance? I think this Q refers to when life is getting hard, and nothing seems to be working for you, and everything seems like a struggle and like so much effort and nothing gets done.
What do you notice about yourself and your headspace? I think this Q means that when life is a struggle as I mentioned, what is it about your internal state (feelings, behaviours, emotions, moods) that change? How does your mental health change- like the way you approach and view things, your motivation, will, desire, drive and volition/compelling to get things done?
Hope that helps- I can clarify further if you like 🙂
i feel like life getting hard and at this piont i just ready to give up on everything i dont have as much bad habits as i did last year it dosent help that we are moving a bit furthur away from school along with my boyfriend and that i have school giving me work after work with shorter due dates. my dad isent really making my life any easier as well.
Hey there @dragon3 , I'm sorry to hear that things are rough for you at the moment. It's great that you don't have as many bad habits as you did last year though, what did you do to help you break those bad ones? It can be a really hard thing to do, so well done to you!
It sounds like you have a lot on your plate at the moment. We have some great threads and other resources on helping to manage stress
Just thought I'd share them here if you want to check them out 🙂 How are you feeling today?
Hi @dragon3 . I suppose for me I see the "balance of my life" as a representation of me being able to function. If I am out of balance then it may mean that my regular routines are out of wack such as my sleeping and eating habits, going to school or work and not attending my commitments. These things affect my emotional wellbeing as well such as my optimism and positivity, my self critical thoughts and being able to deal with mistakes, failure or things in my life going wrong.
A good healthy balance to me is being able to have and deal with experiences and emotions, whatever they may be and still be able to go about my every day life in a happy and productive way. Being able to set goals and stay motivated are clear indicators for me that I am having a healthy life balance.
I hope this helps.
