As a working mother I routinely look back at my day and think I did a lousy job with work/life balance today! Even when I have the best intentions, I easily get pulled in so many directions that there’s just nothing left for the family at the end of the day.

But I recently read a great book by Suzy Welch called 10-10-10. This book provides a practical guide to making decisions on everything from work/life balance and career changes, to where to take a relationship or whether to buy a bigger house.

The premise of the book, which Welch delivers via engaging and suspense filled anecdotes, is that to effectively make a sound decision, you must thoroughly evaluate the impact of that decision over three different timeframes: 10 minutes from now, 10 months from now, and 10 years from now.

While devouring the book I quickly realized how often I (and most people I know) make decisions based on which option is most appealing in the short term. But often the long-term impacts of another option are far more compelling. When you train yourself to consider the short, intermediate, and long-term impacts, the choice most aligned with your goals becomes much clearer.

The best part of Welch’s book is that she doesn’t imply that your work/life balance decisions always have to favor your family. As a working mother (out of choice) she doesn’t condemn those of us who choose to have a career and a family. She celebrates that choice by helping you become more effective at both.

Let’s face it, being a working mother is full of trade-offs. Through Welch’s strategies, you can learn how to decide which trade-offs should be made and which ones should not. You can make better career and life decisions and stay true to your goals, instead of allowing yourself to be distracted from those goals by the chaos of the day and demands of the daily life.

Courtney Briggs is a working mother of two and an MBA with over 15 years of advertising, sales, sales training, and management experience. Visit www.courtneybriggswrites.blogspot.com to learn more about her and her work. Check out www.momstrengths.blogspot.com to learn more about your unique Mom Strengths and how to use them to be a happier, more successful Mom.