Do you feel like you have zero work-life balance?
Do you struggle to evenly divide your career and life so that everything gets “equal attention?”
If so, you’re not alone.
According to a study by Family Living Today, the United States ranks 30 out of 38 countries in achieving work-life balance. In fact, over 66% of those surveyed believe they’re missing that healthy balance in their lives.
Do You Know the Secret to Work Life Harmony?
Now if I’m honest, I can’t say that I’m surprised.
With so many of us juggling work, family, a side hustle, friendships, volunteering, and (ideally!) daily self-care, the idea of a 50/50 split between work and life seems a bit unrealistic.
And you know what? I’m okay with that.
You: WHAT?!
Me: Hear me out.
The Answer is Work Life Harmony
As a woman who wears many different hats, I’ve come to understand that a perfect balance between work and life is not only unrealistic, it’s also not what I want.
Rather, I aim for what Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos terms “work-life harmony.”
As Bezos explains, work and life are more like a circle than a balance. “If I am happy at home,” Bezos notes, “I come into the office with tremendous energy… And if I am happy at work, I come home with tremendous energy.”
In other words, there is not a “strict trade-off” between work and life. Instead, we should tend to whichever bucket needs filling at that moment.
I can certainly get behind this mentality, but what does it mean specifically? How we create that harmony both at work and at home?
How Do We Create This Harmony?
For me, it means that I allow for more fluidity in my schedule; some days consist of longer work hours, others focus entirely on family and friends, while still others place self-care in the foreground.
And while I try to strike a relatively even balance overall, I also stay in tune with myself. Some days I have long open stretches of time for work. I’m in the zone, I have total focus, and I plow through a ton of projects with ease.
Other days, however, I seek rest. My mind needs a break from that intense focus, and so I turn instead to relaxation and/or connection with others.
Now, if you’re a work-a-holic (or recovering work-a-holic) like I am, it can be hard to slow down and actually listen to your body. Instead, you get wrapped up in the work-work-work mentality and ignore your body’s requests to slow down and rest.
Scheduling Your Work and Life
If this sounds like you, then I highly recommend scheduling in your “life” hours.
Literally, pull out your calendar (or use this workbook!) and decide when you will spend time with friends, when you will read that book you want to finish, and when you will fit in your yoga sessions.
What’s more, make sure that you schedule those “life” hours first, before you schedule work.
Remember, you can’t pour from an empty cup. Fill up first before you start pouring out for others.
[bctt tweet=”Remember, you can’t pour from an empty cup. Fill up first before you start pouring out for others. #selfcare” username=”BusyBeingPaula”]
Once you have your schedule set, make sure you stick with it – especially the self-care and “life” sections.
Speaking from experience, it will be tempting to put these activities aside for longer work hours. I challenge you, however, to follow through on them. Treat these activities in your calendar just as you would a non-negotiable appointment for work.
Why?
For a few reasons.
First of all, your body needs the rest.
But perhaps less obviously, when you uphold those “life” appointments to spend time with friends, family, and actually relax, you grow more in tune with your personal needs; you begin to recognize the specific balance of work and life that you need.
By uncovering these specific patterns in your personal work-life harmony you understand the ideal blend that you require to perform at your best.
Make sense?
Awesome! Then I challenge you to give this a try for the next two weeks.
Snag your work life harmony workbook here and uncover a schedule that’s perfect for you!
Let’s do this!
Question:
How do you practice work life harmony? Do you schedule your “life” appointments? Let me know below!