a balancing act
A situation in which one must accomplish a number of tasks at the same time. Mary quickly discovered that working full-time while going to school was going to be quite the balancing act. Being a working single parent was a real balancing act, but, luckily, I was in my 30s and 40s back then. I wouldn't be able to pull it off now, at 65. It's a balancing act to make sure your employees are actually getting things done without micromanaging them.
a juggling act
A particularly difficult and precarious situation in which several things are being attempted or must be maintained at the same time. I think I need to hire an assistant, because keeping track of all these accounts and transactions on my own has become quite a juggling act! Watching three small children at once is quite a juggling act because each one always needs something. I could never keep up the juggling act that goes into having an affair. I am quite happy to be a one woman man, thank you very much!
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
a balancing act
COMMON If a situation is a balancing act, you have to decide what to do when different people want different things or when you have to be aware of different situations which could be affected by what you do. Mr Alia is performing a delicate balancing act. He talks of reform, but clings to old habits. This issue is a typical balancing act between individual rights and community rights.
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012