BALANCING LIFE AND WORK

FACT: There is more to life than work.
FACT: Eight-hour workdays are remnants of the past. You now spend 10 - 14 hours working. That doesn't leave much time for anything else does it?

Is your life out of balance? Do you spend more time at work than you would like? Do you over-focus on meeting everyone else's needs? How do your needs get met?

We all need to balance our needs with the needs of those we care about. When your needs are met fairly consistently, you have energy, you feel secure and in control, and you have room to grow. However, knowing what you need is just the starting point. You then have the responsibility of going after those needs.

Finding and maintaining a comfortable balance in life is a challenge. It's likely that you focus so much time and attention on work that you sacrifice other areas of your life. Think of balance as paying attention to every aspect of your life on a regular basis. It's about attending to your multidimensional self so you can make conscious choices about how you spend your time and energy at work and in life.

There are four aspects of yourself that need your attention: the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual dimensions. Too little attention to any one of them will create the feeling of being out of balance with your self. Appropriate attention to each dimension will give you the power to find the right mix of priorities and actions for creating a balance between life and work. When you're in balance, you are more creative and productive. Here are some actions you can take in each of the dimensions that will assist you in creating more balance between work and life:

Your physical self at work:

• Take frequent breaks.
• If you find you're sitting a lot, stand up and move around about every 15 minutes.
• If you're on your feet, wear comfortable shoes, stretch your back and legs, and sit down periodically.
• Invest in an ergonomically correct work area.
• Take time for well-balanced meals.

Your physical self in life:

• Exercise.
• Rest and relax your body.
• Get the appropriate amount of sleep you need.
• Eat nutritious foods.
• Refrain from smoking.
• If you drink alcohol, do so in moderation.

Your emotional self at work:

• Monitor the emotions you feel.
• Take time to process what you observe.
• Refrain from dumping your feelings on another, especially when you're feeling angry.
• Take a break before dealing with an emotionally charged situation so you can respond in an appropriate manner.
• At the end of the workday, release all of your concerns so you can be ready for time outside of work.
• Leave work at work.

Your emotional self in life:

• Take time for yourself daily.
• Meditate, commune with nature, or read inspirational material.
• Sit and do nothing.
• Become comfortable with who you are outside of your title and occupation.

Your mental self at work:

• Plan your work and your time.
• Look for ways to eliminate time-bandits, by using technology, uncluttering your office, and saying no to requests that don't fit with your master plan. Set reasonable time-lines for project completion.
• Delegate the work you don't really need to be doing.

Your mental self in life:

• Schedule family and personal activities.
• Unclutter your home.
• Let go of perfectionist tendencies about how things should be.
• Set goals that allow you to discover yourself.
• Pursue a variety of interests unrelated to work.

Your spiritual self at work:

• Align yourself as truthfully as possible with the organisational direction
• Reflect daily about your personal goals and behaviour.
• Consider if you're on the most appropriate path for you.
• Determine if your daily activity is aligned with what you truly want to accomplish.

How you live your life is much more important than what you do. Creating and maintaining balance in life is worth the effort because you'll enjoy the process of living while being true to your own essence.

TASKS AND REFLECTIONS

1 Mindmap of your life:
Where are you now and are you satisfied with your position? Drawing a mindmap of your life can help to identify areas of satisfaction and dissatisfaction. Take a large sheet of paper and place MYSELF NOW in the centre. From this, draw branches representing different areas of your life. Next draw lines coming from the main branches, each being thought offshoots. Finally add a star to show satisfaction and a black spot to show dissatisfaction. Parts of your life you might want to include: ambitions, travel, work, health, hobbies, friends, lovers, family, money, retirement, education, creativity, spirituality etc.

2 Your relationship with your work:
Do you see work as a means to an end e.g. your salary pays for the bill you have to pay? Do you see work as an escape from being at home? How do you see work fitting in with your life?

3 Looking after myself:
Rate yourself in the following questionnaire using: often, sometimes or never.

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