How To Find Balance Between Work and Life
鈥淏alance is beautiful.鈥 - Miyoko Ohno,Japanese bridge designer
I have a close friend named Norm who is a great photographer and a great person in general 鈥 recently he was telling me that all he does is work.
That might sound familiar to some of you 鈥 I鈥檝e certainly been there at different points in my life,although these days I have to say that I鈥檝e found a pretty good balance between all the important things in my life,including work,family,and other things I鈥檓 interested in.
Norm asked me to write a post about work-life balance,because although I think Norm is pretty happy with his life,he鈥檚 interested in expanding his life beyond work.I think it鈥檚 an interesting question that most of us have to address at some point or other.
Work *Is* Life,To Some Extent
The first thing to point out is that work isn鈥檛 separate from life 鈥 it鈥檚 a part of it.For some people,it鈥檚 not a fun part of life,but for others,it鈥檚 a passion.Either way,it鈥檚 a part of our lives,good or bad.
Of course,when people talk about a work-life balance,they mean that we should find a balance between work and our personal lives,which is definitely true.But it鈥檚 important to realize that if work is really something you love,you don鈥檛 need to cut it short in order to spend more time at home in front of the television.
So the key is to remember that what we鈥檙e looking for is a balance between the things we love 鈥 not just work and the rest of life,but work and family and hobbies and chores and everything else.
What Do You Love?
What are the things you love to do?That鈥檚 the question to start with.My friend Norm loves photography,but I think he also really enjoys jiu-jitsu and spending time with close friends,among other things.For myself,my favorite things in the world include spending time with my family,writing,reading and running.What鈥檚 on your short list?
One of the things on your list might be your work 鈥 or the work you want to do (as opposed to the work you鈥檙e doing right now).But others could include your favorite hobbies or other passions,ways to relax and have fun,exercise or other outdoor activities,reading and learning,shopping or eating or entertainment,volunteering,or spending time with people who are important to you.There are as many other possibilities as there are people in the world,of course.
Create your short list now,and then continue to the next section.
Creating Space in Your Life
It鈥檚 time to take a Big Picture look at your life 鈥 how are you spending your time right now?How long do you work (and how much of that time is spent on doing what you really love about your work)?What do you do before and after work?What do you do on your days off?
Now think about all the things you do,and how many of them are on your short list.For the things not on your short list,what can you eliminate?Some things might be big commitments that are hard to get out of 鈥 but over time,you can get out of them.Learn to say no,and learn how to tell people that you can no longer commit to doing something.It鈥檚 not always easy,but remember that this is your life,and you should do what you really want to do,not what others want you to do.
Really think hard about how you can eliminate the non-essential things in your life (the non-short list stuff).Work on this over time,and create the space in your life that you need for the things you love.Be sure to allot that time you鈥檝e created to the things on your short list 鈥 don鈥檛 just use it up with television or other space fillers.
Finding That Balance
Once you鈥檝e created space in your life for the things you love,it鈥檚 just a matter of finding the right balance between them.You could have a life filled with all the things you love doing,but it could still be almost all work.While there鈥檚 certainly nothing wrong with that if you love your work and it doesn鈥檛 have negative consequences (on your health or family relationships,for example),for many people it鈥檚 better to have other things balancing out their lives.
Why is a balance between several things that you love better than just one thing that you love?Well,there are a number of reasons that would depend on your situation.For one thing,if you have an office job you might not be getting outdoors enough,or getting enough exercise,and your health might suffer.Another reason is that you might have family and/or friends and if you work all the time you鈥檙e neglecting them 鈥 and those relationships will suffer.You might also get lonely if you work all the time.Another major problem is burnout 鈥 working all the time (or doing any activity all the time) can lead to stress and fatigue,and could make that activity less enjoyable.
Variety is a good thing 鈥 it keeps life interesting.So mix things up a bit.Here are some ideas for doing that:
* Schedule time blocks.This is good for those who use their calendar a lot or can stick to schedules well.Schedule chunks of time throughout your week for all the things that are important.I suggest scheduling everything but work first (unless you鈥檙e on a set work schedule and always start and end at the same time) 鈥 this will ensure that you get everything in and that work doesn鈥檛 overwhelm the schedule.Be sure not to overschedule,filling up every free minute,because no schedule is kept to the minute.Better to have space between your time blocks than to have to skip something because the previous block ran too long.