Many women enter the working world excited about the possibilities. They were told as girls they could accomplish anything. No one told them it would be hard to accomplish “everything.”

In researching my book, Wander Woman: How High-Achieving Women Find Contentment and Direction, I found that more and more women feel the need to realize their career potential but don’t want to give up the desire to raise a family. How do these women do it all while still maintaining their health and peace of mind in the process?

Here’s what a few of the women from the book had to say:

1) Schedule “Mommy Time.” Darelyn “DJ” Mitsch, president of the corporate coaching company The Pyramid Resource Group said she books “mommy” time along with her work appointments. She also said she recalibrates her time as her children grow up, giving some of that time back to herself. She recently published her memoir, Mystic Grits.

2) Segment time and space. Julie English, a Six Sigma Master Blackbelt engineer and CEO of Within Reach Consulting, said she needs to have a place to work outside of the home. For years, she worked for a corporation. When she felt she had enough experience (and not enough recognition from her boss), she started her own business. Yet she maintains an office a few blocks away. She only goes there two or three days a week, but she needs the physical separation to refocus on herself and her work.

3) Integrate activities. Barbara, a senior manager for a multi-national shipping company, takes the family with her once or twice a year on business trips. When she went for her MBA, she showed her two daughters the campus and shared her homework assignments with them. They were so proud of their mother on graduation day.

On the other hand, when DJ found a note from her son in her suitcase asking her if she loved travel more than she loved him, she started hiring other coaches to do the ground work which allowed her more time at home. Ultimately, this led to her winning bigger contracts because she had a team to do the work.

4) Maintain social bonds. Putting friendships on the back burner is one of the greatest mistakes of busy, working women. Not only will your friends help you maintain focus when customers whine, kids scream, health issues nag, and projects overwhelm, they will keep you from feeling isolated when you work for yourself. Find at least three other women who are consciously trying to create more satisfying, purposeful lives like you are. Meet regularly. Eat meals together. Take walks. Your “community of support” keeps you sane as well as productive.

5) Keep your body healthy. Julie discovered that she quickly lost track of her schedule when working for herself. To keep her body in good working order to get everything done, she found she had to start the day with exercise before even reading read her email. Also, she makes sure she eats healthy meals instead of what she can gobble down in quick breaks. She schedules her lunch hour and sticks to it.

6) Regularly notice the world around you. I get acupuncture once a month to reset my overtaxed body. It was my acupuncturist who first told me that I was disconnected. He then prescribed a daily dose of going outside, smelling the air, appreciating the trees and feeling the ground beneath my feet. When I reconnect with nature, I reconnect with my soul.

7) Recreate. DJ said she still needs to recreate herself every few years, answering the question, “What’s next.” She has to give herself private reflection time to find an answer which always includes work that is meaningful for her and contributes to the world she brought her precious children into. She says she will always be learning, playing and growing to feed her wandering soul.

Marcia Reynolds, PsyD

Marcia Reynolds is a coach who teaches classes worldwide on emotional intelligence and leadership. Read more about her and her book, Wander Woman: How High-Achieving Women Find Contentment and Direction at www.WanderWomanBook.com