How to achieve great work/life balance

Source: incisler

I was reading a great article by one of my friends today – she’s talking about finding work/life balance in her own life.  It reminds me of a conversation I have with people whenever I do career coaching.

My first observation is that two hundred years ago, our ancestors would have found this whole concept pretty ridiculous.  Not because they were incredible workaholics or anything, but because they didn’t see “work” as such a separable thing.

I believe this duality came about because of the industrial revolution, where peoples’ identities started diverging from this whole thing about “having a job”.  Then in the late 20th century, we added to that the concept that you should have control over where your life goes.

Personally, I haven’t been stressed out about my own “work/life balance” for over fifteen years.  That’s when I noticed that there were parts of work that I enjoyed and others I found tedious.  But the same was true of life – it’s not all a bed of roses either.  There’s stuff I love doing, and other stuff I just have to do because I like to kid myself that I’m a responsible adult.

It’s not uncommon for a business owner to feel as if work and the business are consuming their life.  Here’s how I’ve reconciled these so I can feel balance:

• I realize that there’s never enough time or money to do everything I’d like.  So I do what I can, and try not to feel guilty about the rest.
• I try to focus first on the things which are truly important, then on things which give me energy and peace.  After that are other things, as I have time for.
• I re-examine my priorities on a regular basis.  Hey, January 1st would be a great time to do that!
• I realized that true happiness isn’t about having fun, owning stuff, or those other superficial accomplishments.  For me, it’s about making a difference to the people in my life – both through my work and in the rest of my life.

If you’re interested to create this balance with your own life and business, give me a holler.  I’d love to have a coffee with you.