Last weekend, my kids had an important event at their school, and it meant so much to them that I attended. I wanted to be there, but I also had a deadline at work on the same day. I needed to make a tough decision; I either had to disappoint my kids or my employer.
I chose the next best thing. I stayed up all night to work on my document so I could have enough time to spend with my kids without feeling remorse.
This is not a healthy practice, and it happens quite often. In an attempt not to drop the ball in important tasks, we often have to make a compromise to achieve balance.
Many of us, in pursuit of the American dream, believe that we need to work hard, make money and we’ll be happy.
In recent times, we have realized that we need more than work and money to be happy. We need family, friends, a healthy lifestyle, hobbies, spirituality, and work to live happy wholesome lives.
Signs you are struggling with work-life balance
Here are some of the signs that may show that you need to have a bit more coordination in your life.
- Not getting enough sleep
- Poor physical fitness and energy levels
- Inability to spend quality time with family and friends
- Unable to delegate work to others
- Working more than 12 hours
- Not finding work fun, satisfying, or rewarding.
If you struggle with at least two of the items above, you need to take a step back and reassess how core aspects of your life are faring.
4 ways to achieve work-life balance
60% of the global workforce say they struggle to maintain stability in their professional and personal lives. Balancing work and career is a struggle that has gone on for many years and shows no sign of stopping as long as people have to earn a living while having some form of personal life.
Define what matters to you.
At every point in a person’s life, the thing they cherish the most may vary. In your early and mid-20s, you may be passionate about your career, education, and having fun.
In your late 20s and early 30s, you may begin to value family, raising kids, and being there for your aging parents.
By your mid-30s – 50s, your focus shifts to physical fitness and living a healthy lifestyle.
The first step to finding balance is deciding what you value most at this point in your life. How important are these to you?
- Career
- Money
- Relationship
- Family & Friends
- Health
- Fun& Leisure
- Home Environment
- Personal Growth
Think Integration, not balance
Balancing your work and personal life means having both aspects co-exist while each thrives.
Work-life integration encourages you to harmonize as many aspects of your life as possible. It relies heavily on multi-tasking and tends to blur the lines between actual work and life.
Integration may involve doing two tasks belonging to separate aspects of your life. E.g taking along your work laptop while visiting with your parents over the weekend, giving your kids a bath and listening to your online course, etc.
Identify time wasters and energy drainers
It is no secret that any form of work-life balance relies on adequately managing your time. cutting down on some of the unimportant tasks that waste your time to focus your time and energy on the things that really matter, may be the key to gaining more control over your time.
You can begin by assessing and regulating the time spent on social media, office politics, office gossip, and other time-wasting or energy-draining activities. See our post on time management here
Prioritize and delegate
The only thing worse than trying to do it all is trying to do it all at once. Delegating not only increases your productivity.
Creating harmony and balance is an ongoing process. It requires a lot of compromises and high-level strategic planning. It also relies more on the individual than other external factors.
How have you attempted to achieve work-life balance?