Achieving the Work/Life Balance: Looking Inward to Guide this Process
by Jessica Heuston, LCSW
Achieving a work/life balance is an ultimate goal for many. It also may seem like an impossible feat to some. The truth is having a meaningful work/life balance is crucial for our well-being. Whether you are juggling owning a business with running a household, another side gig, or raising a small farm (props to the dog moms in my life!), it is vital to our happiness.
An important step to take when you start to approach the task of creating a work/life balance best suited for you is to take a closer look at your values. Is your career a big part of who you are? Is your family an important part of your life? How about a connection to religious practices/community? Starting with looking at what you value, which are the things that truly bring you the most joy, can be beneficial when prioritizing time. When we engage in committed actions related to our values, what is truly most important to us, we live a life of meaning. By identifying our values upon the start of our work towards achieving work/life balance, it makes it much easier to narrow down how we prioritize our time.
Make time for you. You are what is most important when looking at managing your time. If you are not feeling rested, and running on empty, you will not have much to give when it does come down to engaging in those most important things you have identified. Think of recent activities that helped contribute to you feeling recharged and energized. Was it a walk you took last Monday during lunch before an important business meeting? Was it saying “no” to a dinner date after a particularly challenging work week so you could head to bed early? Paying attention to our capacity levels around day to day activity are important too. Just because your colleague seems to have the spirit of an Energizer Bunny does not mean it is appropriate for you feel the same. We are all built different. Stop comparing yourself. Begin to look inward at what levels of activity work best for you. Pay attention to days you are feeling the most tense, frazzled, depleted, etc. and try to journal stressors related to that day. This could help you gauge what you can reasonably tolerate around daily activity engagement as well.
Put a plan into action. After taking in account your values and self-care practices, the next step is scheduling time. Starting with your work schedule and any other prior commitments/responsibilities, look at ways to add blocks of time where you are engaging in these meaningful activities you have identified. For some, this could be keeping a schedule on your phone. Some people may find using a paper planner very helpful. You might find scheduling hour by hour useful, but keep in mind that might not work for you. Maybe simply setting a phone alarm for self-care related activities is enough for you. Regardless, it is helpful to consistently check-in with yourself to see if your plan is working.
Assess how things are going. Try to commit a week to this type of planning, and designate time to review. Take note of physical symptoms of stress, when they occurred, and surrounding situations. If you find working towards a work/life balance to be difficult, it is OK. It might be helpful to check-in with a mental health professional who could help sort this out with you. It is not uncommon for us to struggle with setting limits and experiencing negative self-talk. Remember, when it comes to achieving a work/life balance, taking care of yourself is the most important part for having success with this.
