Work-Life Balance - What Does It Really Mean?

How to balance work life and personal life - this is a question and issue that many people face. However, the first question that should be asked is - "what does work-life balance really mean?"

In some cases the term "work-life balance" has been come to mean flexible work schedules and telecommuting to allow employees to spend more time at home. In the current economic climate, companies are reevaluating these policies and in some cases are eliminating these work alternatives. People who have seen these perks taken away now feel that their work-life balance has been disrupted. I would like to put a different slant on this issue that makes company policies irrelevant.

First, a little math:

Hours in a week168 hours
Time spent going to, at, and coming from work50 hours
Sleep ( 8 hours/night )56 hours
Time remaining for personal life 62 hours

Obviously, the numbers could change slightly based on personal situations, but most people have about the same or a little more time for personal activities as they do for work activities. Therefore, I don't think feelings of being out of balance have anything to do with time spent.

The real issue is focus and alignment. Just as time management is not a time management issue, but rather a goals clarification issue, the same can be said for work-life balance issues. Most people work in organizations that have goals and objectives. People apply their energy towards the achievement of organizational goals. Effective organizations achieve a high degree of alignment between the daily activities of each person and the long term goals of the organization.

The problem is that most people don't do this in their personal life. The 62 hours per week they have for their personal life is consumed by an unfocused set of activities not aligned with any personal long term goals or personal mission. The key to achieving work-life balance is not spending less time at work and more time at home, but rather having a clear set of personal goals to work towards. Sense of accomplishment and self worth comes from completing short term goals and actions which lead to the attainment of longer term goals and ultimately our dreams.

Individuals can create focus by defining the most important things that they want to accomplish outside of their work life. Consider areas such as family, community involvement, friends, hobbies, and spiritual development. The better the focus, the easier it is to align personal activities with the focus. With alignment, we are better able to prioritize activities and to simplify our lives. We can make better decisions of what to say no to and what to let go.

A place to start is to identify or two personal goals that are important to you. Then make a conscious decision to spend a certain amount of time each day and week working towards the achievement of the goal. One area that a lot of people express a desire to improve is their physical health and well-being. Often I hear the excuse of "I just don't have the time to exercise". This statement is only true if the person is planning to exercise more than 62 hours each week. When you put 30 minutes a day, for three or four times a week, against the total available time for personal activities, there is plenty of time. This is true of just about any personal goal that we want to achieve.