Work Life Balance. What it Is And How To Find The Perfect Balance
Balancing work and life these days is a major goal for all of us as the line between the office and the home becomes increasingly blurred and the pace of our society accelerates.
First let's start with a clear definition of what work life balance is all about.
It is not about having an equal amount of time apportioned to work and home life. This is both unrewarding and unrealistic. Life is generally more fluid than this so achieving an effective work life balance is bound to vary over time, for example, the right balance in your twenties when single and career-focused maybe very different to your thirties when married with a young family or later in your life when preparing for retirement.
There is no perfect ‘one size fits all' strategy that you should be aiming for because balance is an individual consideration.
Work and life balance is really all to do with achievement and enjoyment; you don't get one without the other and vice-versa. It is natural that we all want to strive for achievement in life because it brings forth some enjoyment, a better income can provide more possibilities for living a more comfortable existence and providing positive life enhancing experiences.
The enjoyment aspect is not just about being happy though. It would also include the desire for pride, satisfaction, a sense of well-being and self esteem, connection, love and creative expression.
Work life balance should cover the four key quadrants of our lives-family, work, friends and self. Very often it is the self quadrant that is most neglected as we fall out of balance trying to take care of everyone else's needs but our own.
Achieving authentic success in life is possible when we have mastered the art of an effective work and life balance. Over-work leads to emotional distress and tiredness, anxiety, irritability and poor productivity. From an energetic perspective we become heavy, drained and withdrawn and, not surprisingly, begin to struggle in life, falling out of creative flow and harmony with our surroundings. As we push harder we achieve less.
Checklist for getting back into balance;
1) Goals and Values
Get clear on your personal life goals. What do you want and why?
Give dedicated time and refection to your values and guiding principles such as consideration of what you want your legacy to be and how you want to show up in the world in terms of a role model to others.
2) Start a Journal
Begin taking a note of where you are spending your time and effort each week and prepare a separate list of your important goals and values. How do the two compare?
Are you investing the time in the right areas?
3) Separation and boundaries
Whilst we all need to remain flexible these days to changing schedules and being contacted 24/7 it is helpful to establish some effective boundaries between work and home. When relaxing with friends and family, be in the moment and a hundred per cent focused on being fully present without being distracted with blackberries, mobiles and laptops. Leave the office at an agreed time rather than feeling obliged to stay late each day to catch up. Forming healthy habits aids alertness and productivity.
4) Practice relaxation techniques
Daily meditation and time in nature restores balance and calmness. Personal solitude should never be neglected. A healthy body leads to a healthy mind and spirit but exercise and a healthy diet are often the first things to go when we fall out of balance.
5) Be Kind to Yourself
Negative thinking is destructive and leads to poor self esteem and low confidence, combine this with a stressful work schedule and you have a crisis waiting to happen. The problem here is if we are prone to being a workaholic, that is someone with a perfectionist tendency or a desire to always be in control, and then we are more predisposed to negative thinking and being hard on one self if all objectives and goals are not hit in the allocated time scale.
6) Invest in a life coach
A coach will help clarify with you what is most important providing you with the support, focus and weekly accountability to keep you on track and heading clearly in the direction of your life goals.
When we are fully balanced we are totally aligned in body, mind and spirit. This allows us to operate from a strong internal centre based around clear values and purpose and generates authentic power which is lasting, meaningful and puts us in the best possible position to make a difference to the lives of others.
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