How to Find Work-Life Balance
Originally Posted 04/22/22
s it not a never-ending quest? The never-ending search for perfect and harmonious balance in our lives? The unicorn, otherwise known as work-life balance. Do you know anyone with a perfectly adjusted work and personal life? I don’t think I do. I know many people who work then dedicate themselves to a second job, volunteering or family, or even friends. Does having all of that to do in your life equal balance? I don’t know. So let's dig into this together. Let's start with the What.
What is Work-Life Balance?
In everything I read, the answer to this question is the same. Work-life balance is when there is a clear line between work and personal life and when a relatively equal amount of energy and time is given to both sides of the equation.
Does that seem attainable to you? I can count the number of workdays where equal effort was doable on the one hand.
What are the problems with imbalance?
This list is exhaustive and unsettling. The Mayo Clinic article “Work-Life Balance: Tips to Reclaim Control” outlines pitfalls and dangers to our physical and mental health, relationships, and work quality. Written in August 2020 by the Mayo Clinic Staff, here is their list of issues caused by the imbalance of our schedules:
Fatigue. When you're tired, your ability to work productively and think clearly might suffer — which could take a toll on your professional reputation or lead to dangerous or costly mistakes.
Poor health. Stress can worsen symptoms related to many medical conditions and put you at risk of substance misuse.
Lost time with friends and loved ones. If you're working too much, you might miss important family events or milestones, and this can leave you feeling left out and might harm your relationships,
Some studies show that a poor work-life balance can increase the risk of a stroke, specifically in people who work more than 55 hours a week. Other studies have shown that those people working 55 hours a week or more can have a higher risk of anxiety and depression. So, the bottom line, too much work is not suitable for your health.
So, we have concluded that working too much is bad for you. Ok, but how do you know if your work-life balance is out of whack? In the May 2021 article ” How to Have a Good Work-Life Balance,” by Allaya Cooks- Cambell for the Website- Betterup, she gives some sound clues to discover if you have a problem with balance:
1. You can’t stop thinking about work when you’re not at work. Those who find it difficult to draw boundaries between work and life are at higher risk of burnout.
2. Your relationships — inside and outside of work — are beginning to suffer. You may be easily irritated with coworkers and distant from loved ones.
3. You feel off. You have unexplained aches and pains. You may rarely have the energy or find it difficult to focus at work.
4. Everything seems uninteresting or unimportant when you’re not at work. You just don’t feel like doing anything unless you have to. You often turn down invitations, further isolating yourself from your friends.
5. You spend a lot of money outsourcing support for personal tasks. Your laundry, dishes, and mail pile up, waiting for the day when you “have time” to get around to them.
6. You struggle to take time off when you’re sick, mentally strained or need to take care of personal tasks. You don’t remember your last vacation, and you don’t have plans to take one.
7. You can’t imagine doing what you do for the rest of your life. Even if you work in a field or a company you once loved, it feels impossible to imagine continuing life as it is for a long.
8. You always feel that no matter what you’re doing, you should do something else. Over time, this lack of presence and direction often leads to an existential crisis.
So if you’ve discovered you, like most of us, don’t have balance in our work and home life, I am happy to tell you there is a way to remedy that. Cook-Campbells article also addresses the how.
How do I achieve work-life Balance: (Betterup)
I will give her points, but I encourage you to check the article here for more explanation.
Plan Ahead
Embrace the way your brain works
Set blocks of time for different tasks
End work at a specific time
Enlist technology to help you unplug. ( Sounds like an oxymoron but trust me, she has a good point)
Go out to lunch or enjoy lunch with coworkers.
Take time off. (Go on vacation, take those sick days.)
Mindfulness makes imbalance hard to ignore
Find something you love to engage in outside of work
Reconsider work that makes you yearn for balance
Communicate with your manager. (If your self employed like me, yes, communicate with yourself,)
Work with a Coach or Therapist
Finding a true and complete balance may seem impossible, and not every day. Will you be successful in attaining that? Like any new habit, this will take time. Don’t beat yourself up if you fail tomorrow; the goal is to see balance within your week.
I maintain balance by adopting several different routines and habits in my daily life. Being out of balance doesn’t show up much in my home life. As with most mothers and women, we put our family first; but it does show up in me. In my health, my mental state, and my sleep. You may have read about some of these routines in past blog posts. Things like my Morning Routine, evening routine, and Sunday Reset Routine. This helps me maintain balance because it forces me to care for myself. In the morning, that's an hour before my boys get up. I meditate, work out, journal, plan my day, and take a shower before I need to make breakfast. These things also leave room in my life for friends and family. I go to two high schools Lacrosse games a week to support my best friend's daughter; every two weeks, my mom and I have Mani/Pedi appointments, and I often meet with colleagues for breakfast.
These systems didn’t just show up overnight; some took much time to master. As I transitioned from a working mom to a stay-at-home mom to a working mom again, the systems had to get a makeover. Recognizing when your balance is off is necessary to determine how to create or make more room for balance.
I hope you found this information helpful. I always welcome your feedback and comments.
Jennifer Cooper
JKC Mobile Notary
