Most every family struggles to juggle family and work responsibilities. For many years "balance" has been the predominant work-family metaphor, says P. Jeffrey Hill, a professor at Brigham Young University. He suggests that "harmony" might more richly capture what we need to do to manage the demands of our work and families effectively.

"If we think of ourselves as composers, lyricists, orchestrators, and performers of our lives, perhaps we can bring together many challenging aspects of our lives into a great symphony of life," says Hill. Using the metaphor of "harmony," work and family questions are not necessarily, "How can I limit my work time so that I can balance my family life?" or "How can I get out of the house more so I can have more time at work?"

Hill suggests practical ideas to harmonize work and family life:

Create energy—crescendo with vigor. It's the depletion of energy as much as the time spent at work that explains the dissonance between work and family. When you feel your job is sapping your energy, you have little left for family. Whatever you can do that energizes you and helps you go home without worrying about work will help you carry more energy home with you.

Carpe Diem—seize quality time. All time is not created equal. Commit to finding quality time with each family member, depending on your family needs and interests. Bedtime can be high-quality time with children, for example.

Do two things at once—use shadow time harmoniously. Shadow time means capturing the time spent in a secondary activity that is occurring with a primary activity. How about taking a child with you to run errands, to connect one on one while you travel to and from your destination?

Focus on one thing—unison. There are times we need to set boundaries and not let work overpower us. Keeping the Sabbath day holy is one key to harmony. Family vacation can be another time to put work on hold. With technology, it can be tempting to try to work and play simultaneously. If you are playing in unison with the family, they need your full attention.

Strive for flexibility. Those with some flexibility and control over when and where they do their work are better able to find harmony between work and family. Negotiate with your employer if you have ideas for work schedule flexibility.

Make your sleep peaceful. What you do the last 30 minutes before retiring often determines how restful your sleep will be and how you will feel in the morning. Going to bed when you are utterly exhausted, having worked on a project until the late hours of the night, will not bring harmony to your life.

Simplify your life—compose a modest melody. Voluntary simplicity is deliberately choosing to accumulate fewer possessions and engage in fewer activities—a key to finding harmony in a busy life. We live in a materialistic world where we easily acquire many gadgets and toys, but these things have a high cost in time as well as money. When we have too much and do too much, the harmony will elude us.

Susan Murray is an associate professor of family studies who teaches behavioral science and social work at Andrews University. She is a certified family life educator and a licensed marriage and family therapist.