Balance

I've been thinking a lot lately about balance.  Struggling with it, I should say.  I'm wondering how other people create balance in their lives, especially those people who work from home - whether that is a home based business such as artists, or those whose chosen career is homemaking.  There are so many things that need done every day, and so many things we want to do; how do we manage it all?  I know I don't manage.

I tend to focus in on one thing at a time, whether that be making art, cooking, keeping the house clean, or trying to get all my holiday gifts made.  And I'm not talking about multi-tasking.  It's like I have tunnel vision; the one thing I'm focused on is all I can do; I have trouble dividing my time amongst the different concerns.  I have trouble even among the different aspects of my creative life.  I need to be actually creating art; I need to be listing items on my Etsy store; I need to be marketing that store, and I need to be blogging daily.  Any one of those things will consume me to the point where I can't seem to get to the others or can't even think about them.  Yet, those are all tasks that are inter-related and I need to balance them.

Am I even making sense?  I feel like I'm rambling.  So add in the need to make menu plans, clean the house, maybe put up some holiday decorations, and finish my gift giving list - how do you do it?  I read your blogs, you women out there who have jobs and make art and decorate your homes and have social lives to boot.  Tell me your secrets.