Getting the Balance Right
I have on my desk a very thick document published by the DTI about ‘work life balance’ in short it tell us we are really bad at it in this country. We don’t seem to have grasped the need to have balance in our lives. Everyone balance will be different because we all have different priorities. Let’s see if we can work out what it means to you.
Here is what Collins Concise Dictionary says about each of the three words:
Work - physical or mental effort directed towards doing or making something.
Life - the state or quality that distinguishes living beings or organisms from dead ones and from inorganic matter, characterised chiefly by metabolism, growth and the ability to reproduce and respond to stimuli.
Balance - a state of equilibrium.
Could a definition of work life balance be the equal physical and mental effort shared between making or doing something and growth, responding to stimuli and reproduction?
Sounds a bit clumsy doesn't it? Is that because the phrase 'work life balance' is really a misnomer. Most people respond to stimuli whilst doing or making something and grow in many ways whilst doing work. Work can be something which you are employed to do, yet the definition of work also suggests that it is something which many people do away from their place of 'work' and as part of their 'life' i.e. making or doing something.
By now I would be thinking 'where is this going'? Good question! People do not often live their lives in compartments. Think about the last time you were angry or frustrated at work and how this affected your behaviour when you arrived at home. Work and life are inextricably linked.
The key to success within this phrase is the word balance, or equilibrium. But it is not, in my view, the balance between work and home. Instead, it is the balance between how much time you spend on doing things in the areas of your life that you really value, compared to the time you spend on things you don't. So, if you are working in an area which supports your core values - for example a charity worker who has a drive to help the poor - you are more likely to gain balance in your life than if you work in an area that is not linked to your values.
When we consider the phrase 'work life balance' most people see it as shorthand for being fulfilled and reaching their potential in all areas of their lives. In short, people want fulfilment through an inner balance.
When people lose their balance physically they tend to stumble and sometimes fall over. The same can happen emotionally when your internal balance starts to get out of sync - you stumble or fall. You may have seen this in people, their moods and behaviours are unpredictable and they are often not nice to be around. We all can suffer from this at some point in our lives, so how can we retrieve our balance?
The first step is to be clear what your core values are. Write down the people and things that are important to you, try and list them in order of importance - but don't try too hard to put them in order, sometimes things have equal value. Aim for around ten things on your list.
Next write down what you spend your time doing, be honest with yourself, and if you feel able, ask a close friend or partner to give you their opinion - you might be surprised.
Look at the two lists and look at how much time you are spending on your most important people and things compared to the time you spend on things that are not listed. What does it look like?
The last stage is to consider how you can pull back from spending time on areas of your life that are not linked to your values, and how you can spend more time on those things important to you.
It sounds easy doesn't it? It can be, but the hardest parts will be to motivate yourself to write the lists and then to do something about the imbalance. I have hopefully helped you start to gain more inner balance, the rest is now up to you.
Article Author: Ann Bancroft, Executive & Personal Life Coach - CLICK HERE to visit her website.