I met up a friend recently who, though as Young as me, looked jaded and worn out .When I asked him what happened to him in the last decade, he replied with the all too familiar story of how his work life balance had been completely ruined. There was nothing much according to him in his life other than just work, work and work.
Now with anything related to life in general and more so health in particular, I am all ears. I have not forgotten my recent past where at different points of my own life, I too had gone through this curve. I know exactly how one is trapped when they look at life with a myopic vision. This got me thinking post our meeting on the drive back about how to actually carve out a near to perfect Work Life Balance.
Create Space in your life: For anything to fit in, there has to be some space created. The best thing to do is to create a big picture of your own life and see how things are working out. See yourself in a movie going through the day @ work and outside work. Keep a sharp eye on all the things you do and focus on things you can eliminate. I am aware some things might be difficult to overcome but over a period of time, if you work at it, the day is not far when you can get over it. Learn to say no and tell people that you can no longer commit to doing something. It’s not always easy but remember that this is your life and you should do what you really want to do. Work on this over time and create the space in your life that you need for the things you love. Don’t just use it up in front of television or worse on other non-productive activities.
Create that Balance: Once you have created some space to do the things you love then it is just moving one more step in doing the things you really Love to do. I remember when I was working in a regular Job like most of you; I used to make some time diligently during my work day, once a week, to build on a habit which has made me what I am right now. I would advocate working on creating a balance between several things that you love rather than just one thing. You might have heard the saying that Variety is the spice of life and so it does goes with creating the fine balance. As with everything, begin small and slowly move around to bigger things.
Set your limits: I come across many people who consistently spend 10-12 hours in their work. This has unfortunately become the norm with ever increasing urge to get to the top at any cost, most of the time by paying a hefty price tag in terms of your own health. What I’ve found is that if you set a limit (say 8 or 9 hours) you’ll find a way to do the essential tasks within that limit. That might mean, eliminating the non-essential tasks, cutting back on time-wasters such as spending too much time on a social network or even near the coffee vending machine.
Schedule time for yourself: I come across many people who make time for everything else except themselves. Schedule time for yourself, doing the things you would love doing by yourself and makes you at peace. For me reading and swimming are the two most important things. I do it without being distracted for hours together at times. See what works for you and work on it to see a huge makeover.
Examine your life regularly: I use my swimming time as a time of reflection. I would strongly recommend you should use your alone time similarly, if possible. Often our lives become derailed from the track we set it on and as a result we don’t realize where our lives are going until we really examine them. we can get so caught up in a routine that we don’t realize we can change it. Regular self reflection is the answer: think about how your life is going, how you’re spending your time and decide whether you need to make changes. Then schedule time to make those changes immediately — or make the changes right away if possible.
I personally believe that a good Work –life balance is not a mirage. Work on some of these if you find it practical and I can guarantee you that when you really want something then things will work out magically.Sometime it is prudent to begin by not thinking of the end in mind.Take the first few steps and surprise yourself.I would Love to hear from each one of you as to how you are managing the fine balance of your work & Life.Do put up your comments on my Facebook Fan Page or you can mail me on coach@satishrao.in