Finding the Right Work-Life Balance

Work-Life balance is a difficult item to achieve as one sometimes struggles between having enough time for personal interests while being able to advance in their career.

Today, the work-life balance is evolving and changing as it means different things to different people, but it revolves around the mix of business and personal life that’s right for each individual.

Personal Life can include time with family and friends, time alone resting, hobbies, exercising and for some, even work.  Achieving a good work-life balance can be challenging and may take time for an individual to define what works for them.

Because work-life balance is different for each individual, there is no formula or “one-size fits all”.

It seems that the biggest variable to attaining a work-life balance is efficiently.  Someone who works hard does not always translate to someone working efficiently.  If you give the same task to 2 different people, the one who works efficiently will perform the task in a shorter time.

It has been proven that a work-life balance will increase productivity.  So ironically, working efficiently and being productive leads to a better work-life balance which comes full circle as a work-life balance leads to being more productive at work.

The more efficient and productive you are at work, the easier it is for you to go home at a reasonable time.

Other variables to help achieve a work-life balance:

• Unplug
• Limit “Time Wasters”
• Change Life Schedule
• Exercise
• Learn how to let go of things
• Establish boundaries at work and stick to them
• Prioritize your time

Although not always easy to do in a social setting like an office, to achieve a work-life balance, one must be more efficient at work and be able to accomplish tasks when you are work.  To be productive at work, you should try to eliminate:

• Social Media
• Speaking to co-workers at length
• Stress

I personally can say it took me a long time to understand what a work-life balance actually is.  But once I was able to prioritize my tasks and give myself timelines for long-term tasks, it helped me establish goals and items I needed to perform my job.  Although it is important to eliminate “time wasters”, it is just as important to take regular breaks throughout the day to refresh your mind.

I also learned that it’s okay to be selfish with my time.  By being selfish with my time, I was able to be better with my job goals and work better with my peers as well as be a better person to people in my personal life.

I’m not sure we can get Pixar to do a movie, but I guess it’s the “Circle of Adult Life”… productivity leads to achieving a work-life balance which leads to working efficiently which also leads to alleviating stress and allowing me to enjoy my personal time.

Never get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life.