My friends and family know that I have terrible feet. I've had multiple surgeries on my feet and even broke one foot in two places running to catch a train to get to work one morning.

Recently, I went to physical therapy for some prolonged foot and ankle pain I've been having. My therapist, Paul, gave me a bunch of exercises and stretches to do each day.

But, the one he said I should do more than any other is to balance on one foot for at least 20 seconds and then switch to the other foot and do the same. He recommended doing this exercise several times a day.

When I started a couple of weeks ago, I couldn't make it to 20 seconds on either foot all in one go. But just yesterday I was able to do 50 seconds on one foot and 40 on the other, which is my record so far.

From that simple daily practice, I've been able to more than doable my ability in what seems like a fairly small investment of time.

So, why am I telling you all this?

Because, lately I've been feeling like my schedule, deadlines, to-dos have formed this massive, overloaded freight train barreling down on me every single day. Clearly, it's more than just my feet and ankles that need to improve their balance.

I need to improve the balance between work and play, between my own needs and the needs of others, and between all the ways I must and want to invest my time.

Here are some of the ways I've started to challenge myself to improve my balance in life:

• Blocking out time on my calendar not just for meetings and getting work done, but also for getting things done for me so they're elevated to the same level as all the things I need to do for others and for my business.
• Setting my calendar to "Unavailable" while I'm on vacation the week of July 4th, so no one can book time with me and I'm not tempted to interrupt my downtime with work-related events and meetings.
• Setting a stretch goal each week, which is totally personal. Last week I baked a complicated cake—it was a delicious disaster. This week I made my first boule of bread-it could have used a tad more proving, but is surprisingly eatable. Who know what I'll do next week...and, that's the fun of it.

Most importantly, here's the thing I've realized about achieving balance from my physical therapy: Unless we stretch and challenge ourselves to be better at it, we can't really get better at it.

What are you doing to improve the balance in your life?
If you've got some tips for me, I'd love to hear them. Just shoot me an email.

And, if you want some help making sure you're investing your time and energy productively, don't hesitate to schedule some time with me.​

And, if you missed last week's email on developing your ability to say 'no'—which is one way to stretch and create better balance, you can find it here.

Until next week, stay nimble.

Your success is our strategy!