You know those days when you don’t find a minute to pause and breathe? You thought you’d have time to send those Christmas care packages to your sisters, but instead you ended up calling the plumber, making chicken noodle soup for a kid who stayed home sick, and taking an emergency trip to the vet. Sometimes, on days like that, you have no choice except to surrender to the chaos! But, a lot of the time, you have more control than you realize and you can balance your life by following a few general rules.

First and foremost, stay organized! Do you find yourself missing important appointments? Forgetting to take the kids to soccer practice? If you pay attention to a well-kept calendar, it will be easier to stay on track. Also, when your files are organized, you will have no trouble finding that important piece of paper. The same goes for your house. Think how much time you’d save if you knew where everything was!

Another thing that helps is to try having a routine. When you were young and without children, you probably didn’t consider putting things like “vacuum” on your schedule. Now that you’re busy with children, though, wouldn’t it be easier if you knew approximately what was going to happen every week? If you schedule in time to exercise and do house chores, for example, you’re much more likely to have a healthy body and a clean house.

Don’t overcommit! On Monday, if you agree to organize the neighborhood ice cream social, take on a significant work project, and start training for a marathon, you might be feeling really tired by Friday! People have different energy levels; make sure you know how much you can handle (and, if possible, commit to a little less). It’s a good idea to save some time to pause and breathe!