Work Life Balance

Have you  ever thought , I should wind up work  today 30 mins earlier and take care of couple of errands  or go home and prepare kid’s favorite  dinner….

Yes , for  every  working person  their work ALWAYS  takes  precedence.  Some say  they give priority  to  their  health  and go  to  gym or  do  exercise for  1  hour  a day…  Is physical  health  the only one in  priority after work? What  about  personal  / emotional  and spiritual   needs?

Work  Life balance  is just NOT just dividing the hours  by 2.  It is neatly dividing your active hours by  having the flexibility  to  get things done in  your profession  life , while  you  still  have  the time and same  energy  to  enjoy your  personal  life.  Flexibility here means some days -  like  you  have an audit  /  delivery  to  be completed -  so  we stretch a little  at office and we compensate that over the week ends.

My few pointers  to create a better work –life balance

1)  Accept that there is ‘NO PERFECT’ work  life balance.

Everyone knows that there is NO perfect schedule -  some days we  focus more  on our work. Some days we focus on  personal priorities.  Balance is achieved over the time and NOT each  day.

That is the reason we have  vacation  days /  paternal leave  where we focus more on personal fun activities  than NOT  to  think  about  our work. 

One tip  here  -  be your 100%  wherever you  are…. If you  are in the office /at work -  focus on work  ONLY.  No  social media / personal calls/emails….  If you  are with  your  family -  do  not  look  at the work  emails  on  your  phone.

2)  Do the job that you  love or  try  to  love the job  that you  do.

Most of us  need to work  -  it is a societal  norm.   Work is NOT just for getting money  ,  need to  have the soul  satisfaction  factor too.

Passion  is THE energy. For a surgeon,   who is very  passionate about  his  work -  can conduct a surgery for  hours together and never feels  tired and  never complains of lack  of stamina.  But  once when he returns back  home  and if his  wife  ask  him  to  accompany  her for  shopping  -  then  he needs REAL  stamina. 🙂

3)  Prioritize your health.

This  does NOT say only  about your  daily  routine exercise that is needed. Also  when  you  are sick  -  take enough rest / medical  help  and recover early than  to worsen  the situation  and take  number  of sick  leaves. 

A day  or 2 away, helps  in faster recovery  and  also  NOT to  spread the germs with  other  co-workers. 

Also  when  you  are sick  you  are less productive.  Remember you  are NOT your 100%.

4)  Don’t be afraid to  unplug.

We live in  a connected world  that never sleeps.   So  be prepared  to  give some space for  other  thoughts and ideas….  I  like  to  use an analogy  here.

When  we fill say  a small  packet of  quinoa into  a container….  When it is  about to  come to  the brim , we all  stop the filling and try to  give a  tap and  some quick shakes to  release any  air and make  the grains settle more closer  so  the container can accommodate more grains.  The tap  and shake  is  compared  to  the unplugging.  

If you  work  from  home -  just  go  to  the mail box, to  collect the mails /  pick  the kids from  the bus stop.  If at office, go  to  the break  room -  get a cup  of coffee /  cool  water. Or  check  on  a colleague, who  was sick last week. 

Once you  return  back  to  work  -  you  will  have  definitely  a better solution  to  the problem -  you  were looking into.

5)  Take a vacation.

There is a saying -  All  work NO play makes  Jack a dull  Boy.

The vacation  can be 1 day  or 2 weeks -  this  helps  you to  recharge / revitalize.

But plan your vacation  with  proper  notice so  you  need NOT be concerned about   taxing  your colleague when  you  are away  or worry  about  the work  load after you return. 

6)  Set goal  and priorities.

We are all passionate people  and hence all  our aspirations are very  HIGH. But we need to  set SMART goals -  for our  career , health  and relationship.

·       Specific

·       Measurable

·       Achievable

·       Realistic

·       Timely

Start small and build from  there…  If  you  are trying something new in  your  life -  say  walking daily  -  you  cannot  aim  for 5 miles from  day 1.  You start with  2 miles and gradually  increase  it.

To  conclude -  Work  life balance will  mean different  for  different set of  people -  but we all  have commitments.  Neither   the government nor  the corporate  that you are working  for  can regulate this -  it is an individual’s responsibility.

 It is important -  you  remain  flexible and constantly assess,  what cap  to  wear -  when, where , and for  how LONG.

                                                            Good Luck!