Work-Life Balance.Myth?

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Is there really such a thing as Work-life Balance? Often before taking up a new hobby, a new task, taking up a short course/enrolling for a Masters programme, or signing up for gym you ask yourself- “Where will I find time to do this?”. Or maybe that’s just me. (It’s a bit of a long one- you might need to take a break, or scroll to the end for a takeaway)

It is easy to feel overwhelmed and feel like life is passing you by while you work long hours every day. I remember I used to feel like I have only two days in a week to:

• hang out with my friends;
• spend time with family;
• have fun;
• rest;
• pursue my other passions/business ideas;
• meet new people;
• go to church;
• study…..

and whenever I tried to fit all these things into the weekend- the following week would be so hectic!!! I would feel like everything is falling apart cause I wouldn’t have achieved all my weekend escapades and things just weren’t going my way. I often felt so tired and overwhelmed.

I would like to think I have found my balance now.! Maybe not fully, but I have a sense of control over how my week/month/or year goes.

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A time for everything:

a time to relax and a time to be busy, a time to frolic and a time to labor, a time to receive and a time to give, a time to begin and a time to finish

Jonathan Lockwood Huie

With that said, here are my views on what Work-Life Balance is all about.

I HAVE TO ENJOY THIS LIFE I’M LIVING

There isn’t any other logical explanation I can give you about why you need to find your balance. We all deserve to enjoy the life we are living. I believe sometimes we take ourselves too seriously and forget to relax and enjoy the life we have. Because I have no choice but to enjoy my life, I set “appointments” with myself. Set time to spoil myself, do the things I like or even try new things.

Every week I have at least one thing I look forward to doing for myself- spend time with a friend, go out, stay in all day, have friends over.. whatever makes me happy.

I recommend that you do that. Have at least one exciting thing planned for yourself . Something pleasurable, material or even social.

HAVE A SCHEDULE.. A PLANNER…A TO DO LIST..SOMETHING!

The worst thing you can do is forget to do something you really had to do/ wanted to do. It can easily make all your other small victories seem insignificant. Write down the important things you have to get done.

I know that I forget, we all do.. okay maybe you don’t. But the thing with balance is you need to have a visual image of what the things you have to get done to be able to PRIORITISE accordingly. To be able to MANAGE YOUR COMMITMENTS and know when to say NO. Over-scheduling your time is the thief of balance! If you have 48hrs planned into 12hrs you will not succeed. You won’t get balance!… I have learnt not to overwhelm myself with too many activities.Less is more lol. This

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ALLOW YOURSELF TO BE PRESENT

Sometimes we like talking about how we are “wasting time” by being out, or by sitting with friends and doing nothing for hours. We all need downtime in different ways. So this is me, If I decide to go out, I go out. And while I’m out, I don’t say to myself – I should be home studying. I should be sleeping.When you’re out, ENJOY every moment.

If you are worried about XYZ go back to XYZ. By worrying, you are introducing an imbalance to the present moment. We cannot be in more than one place at a time. And that’s why we should plan our time. Can we have all the fun we plan to have without feeling guilty? YES. It is possible.

Allow yourself to be present in the moments you choose as this will energize that aspect of your life. If you’re with family be present. At the gym? WORKOUT! Whatever you do at a particular time- BE PRESENT!

CUT OUT ON YOUR SCREEN TIME- T.V TIME!

Geez! I don’t even know what to say here! You really don’t have to watch t.v the entire evening! You won’t die.

Maybe I am biased. I am not a TV person. I do take time to catch up on some interesting series but I could survive without TV. But that’s just me.

WAKE UP EARLY

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Sometimes you really have a lot to get done! Your life is really just jam-packed cause you have grabbed life by the horns! Set your alarm and GET UP EARLY.

One thing I appreciate about waking up early is that it gives me more hours in the day. You get all the stuff you need to get done faster! Also you will feel like a winner if by 11am on a Saturday you have taken a shower, studied, bought some groceries, and paid a few bills. Then you have an afternoon to do the things you actually enjoy. Take a nap and still have more day left!

During the week I find time to not feel the pressure of the week. To not feel like Work is taking over my life. I find time to read, watch something I like (not 5 things every day), meet a friend, go crazy on the internet. Just so I feel like I am not sinking.

At the end of the day, The Work-Life Balance requires a lot of discipline. A lot of planning and knowing when to say NO! Setting real boundaries and knowing when things just wont fit into how your life is set up.

Remember, it is your life and you really get to do what you want! Your balance is your balance. Some days the chaos is the balance. Work Life Balance isn’t a myth. It’s unique to you. You determine your own balance.

SO what do you need to remember from all this:

• Set alarms
• Do not over-schedule your time
• Prioritise
• Stick to your plans
• Be realistic
• Have FUN!