One of the biggest challenges business owners and working parents have is balancing work and life. It is important to find strategies to cope with the overabundance of work and life. Here are six strategies to use.

• Prioritize. We are all juggling so many balls; just make sure to keep your eye on your precious ones. When it comes down to it, family, children, spouses and friends are the balls that you don’t want to drop. Certainly, job security and making a profit is important; but nothing is as high a priority as family.

• Don’t sweat the small stuff. This is a tough rule for me to follow. Everyone has his or her own tolerance of small stuff. I keep trying to ditch the working  mom guilt. It’s negative energy. A recent study from the University of Maryland on working moms concluded that parents are spending more time with our kids than our own mothers did         25 years ago!

• Organize and plan, plan, plan. I can get a bit carried away at planning. Planning is a coping method for me. I develop weekly schedules for both my office and home. However, in defense of my planning, developing weekly schedules keeps our family relatively sane. Order, or at least a “perceived sense of order,” can be very empowering.

• Effectively communicate the plans. This type of communication takes teamwork. When you have a busy family it is essential that everyone, even your teenager, understands and impacts the family schedule. This can only be achieved by consistent communication.

• Take care of yourself. For those of us who may take care of people at home and at work, it becomes critical to take care of yourself. It is important to take the time to unwind, nurture and regenerate your batteries so you can be the best for your family and your business.

• Embrace technology. I can’t function without my BlackBerry. My PDA keeps me on task. I can text with my teen, tweet to keep up on events, and e-mail while I’m out of the office. New devices, like Bluetooth, take time to learn to use effectively so that they are a support and not a hindrance. Remember, there is a time when the toy should be put away.

Napa Valley College Small Business Development Center will hold a class on organizational and time management at the Napa Chamber of Commerce July 23, 6-9 p.m. The training is part of our award-winning Customer Service Academy.

If you find yourself agonizing over balancing work and life, I highly recommend this training. $50. For more information call 253-3210.

The final strategy is a good sense of humor. Work and life, business and family are going to collide. Laugh off the stress and never forget your top priorities.