Finding time

I know, I've been away for another long time. I've been super busy the last week or so at work and in the evenings/weekends. Case in point, this weekend:

Saturday:
8:30am-10:45am: WW Meeting
10:45am-11:15am: travel
11:15am-12:00pm: make and eat lunch, tidy up the kitchen
12:00pm-1:00pm: travel
1:00pm-3:30pm: Ed taught a yoga class (which I attended)
3:30pm-11pm: attended two birthday parties on opposite ends of Toronto. Seriously.

This is what my "spare time" usually ends up looking like. I'm a busy person, between working full time, working part time, training for the 10K next weekend, practicing yoga, working at the yoga studio once a week, and doing regular people things (eating/making meals, cleaning, running errands, social activities, etc). I have maybe one full hour a day of "relax" time, usually in 15 or 20 minute spurts before I have to jump back up and get moving again. I also have the new added challenge of moving, as my boyfriend will be moving into my apartment in a couple months (yay!), meaning that we both have to sell things, organize and merge our belongings (eek!).

So, how the heck do I balance this all out? The answer --- veeeerrrrryyyyy delicately.

I'm a scheduling queen. I have spreadsheets and calendars and organizational goodies everywhere to try to put my life in writing so I a) don't forget where I'm supposed to be going, and b) can make time for the important things.

Despite all my running around and frantically trying to squeeze in everything that I'd like to get done, I still make sure that I block out some time for the important people in my life. For example, Ed and I try to make sure that we set aside one full evening per week to be together, kind of like a date night. Since we're also trying to save up as much money as possible (with him moving and my impending student debt, we're trying to be very frugal!), our date nights have to be creatively cheap. We might cook together, rent a movie, go for a walk, have a picnic in the park, go out for a fancy coffee, etc.

Of course it's not as easy as just saying "write it all down" and you'll be good to go. There have been many times that I've had near breakdowns from being so busy and having no time to do everything that needs to be done. I've had numerous weekends that weren't really "weekends", because I was still at work or otherwise busy the whole time. But I try to find some sort of balance so that I don't go crazy by prioritizing things. My family and friends take priority over cleaning the bathroom - it can wait one more day if it means that I can spend time with the people I care for. It also pays to ask for help when you need it. Even though we don't yet live together, Ed and I sometimes share our chores and errands to help each other out (e.g. if I don't have time to go grocery shopping, he'll try to help me out by picking up the things I need most, and I can get the non-essentials/meals for later in the week at another time).

How do you find balance with a busy schedule?