The past few decades have brought so many new terms into our modern lives. One that is commonly heard is “work-life balance.”
What is balance exactly? Especially when so many are expected to be on call at all times, even evenings, weekends and on vacation?
A good balance is putting your all into it when you're working, then focusing on family, friends, hobbies relaxation when you're not (even if your cell phone is sometimes on).
The website WorkLifeBalance.com puts things in perspective by not advocating exact amounts of life given to various aspects of life. WorkLifeBalance advises, “There is no perfect, one-size fits all, balance you should be striving for. The best work-life balance is different for each of us because we all have different priorities and different lives.”
This is very true. No year (or even week) will be the same. Balance doesn’t mean fitting everything in every day. Balance depends on your work, your personal life and even where you live. Balance can be different from one year to the next.
Here are some tips about balancing life and work in a never-ending work environment:
1) If you’re young, love your work and have no family obligations, it's okay to throw yourself into your job!
Work extra hours to earn more cash and be in line for promotions. Spend a Saturday doing some overtime (paid or otherwise) if it means you’ll get ahead. Now is the time to put all your efforts in without the time-consumption that marriage and children bring. There’s nothing wrong with working harder than anyone you know. In many cases, you’ll jump in front of the career line and it’ll pay off later.
Don’t forget to fit in exercise and socializing when you can. Take a power walk at lunch time and meet friends for a meal after work. All work and no play make Jack a dull boy! Things will eventually balance out. But building up a good career portfolio is important, and extra hours might be needed.
Single and working hard? Make sure your downtime counts. Go on vacations, see the world and experience new things. If you have children down the line, you’ll be more confined to home. Your employer knows you’re coming back, and you can always check in online for a few minutes every couple of days.
2) When marriage and parenting come along, hopefully some solid career roots are already in place.
Then time can be spent focusing on home and family. This is where another balance happens. You’ve put in the long hours and now is the time to reap the benefits.
Work from a home office a couple of days a week if you can. Talk to your employer about your options. Working from home cuts out a lot of wasted time and energy that the workplace dynamic can dole out. You might even find that you can be done by the time your kids get home from school.
3) Family time is family time. For some hours every weekend or day off, shut down any thought of work.
Sure, check your phone for 15 minutes a day but remember that work will always be there. Your children won’t. You can be replaced at work within a week or two (sorry!) but you can never be replaced at home. Remember that you've focused on many things in your life, including work and travel. Now is the time to balance it out with a focus on your loved ones.
4) Find some "me-time."
This isn't easy when career and family are in full motion but that me-time can be found in 30 minutes of daily exercise, the drive home (listening to books on CD), a nightly walk or an evening out with girlfriends. Take your spouse out for date night. Don't get lost in work and family — remember you were here first! A balanced adult is a better colleague, spouse, parent and friend.
Career Realism has great advice about how to make your job easier so that balance comes more naturally. They say that “...the reason many employees or workers hate their jobs is because they treat it as their enemy. They don’t enjoy doing it and they complain every time things aren’t going their way. If you don’t like this exhausting and stressful lifestyle, then you should treat your job as your friend. Seek out tasks and discover new things. Enjoy everything about it because if you do, you will never feel tired and stress.”
This advice also means you’re happy to put work aside and take breaks, because you know you’ll love coming back.
Work is important, there’s no doubt about it. It’s how we can afford a roof over our heads, food, health care and more. But when work takes over a life that needs a better balance, our personal lives and families will suffer. A great career is no substitute for a broken or alienated family.
We won’t work forever, and without family or good friends in old age, life will be very lonely. Balance in nature is vital to its continuation. The same can be said for being alive.
Sources:
WorkLifeBalance.com. Work Life Balance Defined. Web. Retrieved April 25th, 2015.
http://www.worklifebalance.com/work-life-balance-defined.html
Careerrealism.com. 4 Tips For Maintaining A Healthy Work-Life Balance. Web. Retrieved April 25th, 2015.
http://www.careerealism.com/healthy-work-life-balance-tips/
Reviewed April 30, 2015
by Michele Blacksberg RN
Edited by Jody Smith