Striking right balance key to personal wellness Published March 16, 2011 By Airman 1st Class Heather Heiney 81st Training Wing Public Affairs KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. -- Editor's note: This is the last in a series of articles about personal wellness. Like a stained glass window, a person is built of individual fragments. Since the beginning of the year, this series has taken a closer look at some of those fragments including financial, physical, intellectual, occupational, medical, spiritual, social, environmental and emotional wellness. But how does one balance all those aspects? Setting aside just a few minutes to care for each aspect can make a real difference in quality of life. Financial -- if the option is available, take a few minutes each day to review finances on line and balance your transaction register. This can save a lot of time trying to catch up at the end of the month and it can protect you from accidentally over-drafting your account. Physical -- choosing healthy food takes no more time than choosing unhealthy food, but it makes a huge difference in overall wellbeing. Also, doing some form of physical activity daily, whether it's walking, going to the gym or simply getting up and moving around throughout the day, is necessary to stay healthy and it doesn't take much time at all. Intellectual -- playing a short mind game, reading a news article and having a thoughtful conversation are all ways to keep a sharp intellect with a busy schedule. Occupational -- doing your best at work every day, developing innovative ways to complete tasks and building relationships with co-workers can all help maintain interest throughout your career. Medical -- washing your hands on a regular basis is the easiest way to protect from the spread of illness and disease. Spiritual -- rituals, praying or quiet reflection can help renew spiritual wellness. Social -- find time to spend interacting with friends and family on a regular basis like setting up a game night, craft group or watching and discussing a movie. Environmental -- do your best to reuse, reduce and recycle. For example there are reusable grocery bags available at nearly every retailer, or you can reuse grocery bags as trash bags or lunch sacks or request no bag if you're only buying a few items or easy to carry items. Some grocery stores have bins for recycling used grocery bags. Emotional -- if something is bothering you, talk to someone about it. Even if they can't fix the problem, you'll at least feel a little better about the situation. Balancing work and family life can be difficult enough, but throw in college classes, volunteer work or a social life and a to-do list can seem to stretch miles. However, there are a few ways to reduce the strain on your time and start enjoying it more. Use a planner or make lists -- for many people, it can be beneficial to make a to-do list or a schedule for the day because they can physically check each item off as it is completed and not spend time trying to remember everything that needs to be done. Do one thing at a time -- it's better to do one task with full concentration and effort than to bounce between tasks and not really focus on any of them. Prioritize -- everything can't be done immediately so think about what absolutely has to get done now and what can wait until later or the next day. Take a break -- trouble concentrating can really act as a concrete wall in getting things done. Taking breaks periodically to step away from a task can help renew focus and productivity. Dissect large tasks -- sometimes a task such as deep cleaning a house or writing a report can be overwhelming, but if you focus on one room at a time or paragraph at a time, you'll steadily finish the task. There are only 1,440 minutes in a day, so be realistic about what you can fit into that time without sacrificing the things that matter to you.