Work/Life Balance

Do you need help finding the right work/life balance?  Does work take over your entire life?  Are your kids and spouse complaining you are never home?  The balance between work and personal life means finding a comfortable time allocation.  The time allocation does not have to be 50/50, but it does need to allow for quality time spent at work and home. 

It is crucial that you meet the requirements of your job.  However, equally important is your personal time.  Personal time allows you to connect with family and friends.  Personal time provides you the ability to recharge and refocus.  The effects of ignoring personal time include burnout, stress, and family turmoil.  Paul Tsongas was a U. S. Senator from Massachusetts in the ‘80s.  Upon receiving a cancer diagnosis, he re-evaluated his life choices and opted not to seek re-election.  Often, he is quoted as saying, “Nobody on his deathbed ever said, I wish I’d spent more time in the office.”

Ok, I want to succeed at work while having a loving family and a group of supportive friends.  Is having all of this possible?   

Yes.  First, anything worth having requires a belief that you can accomplish it and a determination to put in the effort to make it happen.  Here are several steps to help you find a way to realize your goal of a healthy work/life balance.

Start by doing an inventory of your life.  List what brings you joy and satisfaction; include your most significant accomplishments.  Now, write a list of what is missing from your life.  List the areas or activities to which you need to give more attention.  Things you have wanted to do but have yet to do.  Lastly, catalog your activities that don’t bring you joy, activities that can be eliminated from your life.  Write everything down.  As you make your plan for change, you have a list of what to make time for, what things you can discard, and what activities you want to keep. 

Reassess your current responsibilities.  How can you redesign your life to find time?  You can’t create time; we are limited to 24 hours a day, seven days a week.  Look for ways to drop activities from your schedule.  In your personal life, consider a service to mow your lawn or clean your house.  Do the same thing in your work life.  Look for what is causing your work hours to interfere with your family life.  Be creative.  Think outside the box.    

Now create your balance plan.  Begin by defining your boundaries.  You need to know when and where to say no at work and in your personal life.  Don’t be afraid to set boundaries.  You need to set specific work hours, individual hours, and flexible time.  In creating your plan, be smart; set SMART goals – specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound.

Calendar your days.  You can set up your day/week/month/year with boundaries.  Going to your child’s softball games is essential.  Set a boundary that softball afternoons are free from work and booked for personal time.  Define vacation time.  Set scheduled date nights.

Commit to change.  Change is easier to accomplish with accountability.  Who in your life will support you in keeping to your plan?  Who will help you be flexible?  The exact steps in your plan may and will change.  That’s ok so long as you are moving toward your goal.  Do not be too ambitious.  The change will come; sometimes, it takes small steps.  Give yourself credit for where you are on this journey of change. 

You may see you have settled into a routine as you look at your inventory.  That routine is now a rut or maybe even a ditch.  You are just stuck doing things the way they have always been.  Because of past patterns, you are settling for less.  You can develop a healthy work/life balance.  Start today.  You will feel better.  You will have more energy to be your best at work.  In addition, your family will enjoy the new you.

There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under the heavens.  Ecclesiastes 3:1

Cheryl Gowin and Dennis Gowin.  Call us with your feedback, comments, issues, or questions; our phone number is 434-808-2637.