The 4 Pillars of Work Life Balance
© El Fenn, Morocco
Have you ever said yes to more activities and responsibilities than you can reasonably handle? At work and in your home life, it is easy to get caught in this impossible trap that drains your energy and kills your inspiration. Setting priorities, managing your time wisely, staying focused and developing self-care habits are all behaviors that can support more balance and less overwhelm.
1. Setting Priorities
Take personal quiet time to connect with your values and decide what will deliver the greatest sense of fulfillment, prosperity and harmony to you.
- Create context and focus for your short-term decisions by listing all your long-term goals and dreams for work and personal life. How do you envision your future? (Success expert, Brian Tracy suggests this strategy)
- Decide which items on your ‘future’ list are your top 5 or 6 items and also note what others are second-tier priorities.
- Using your long-term list for perspective and guidance, create and organize your To Do
- Identify what is important now, what can wait and what can be delegated. (If improving your status at work is a priority, you may choose to take a specific course to enhance your capability)
2. Time Management
When it comes to putting your priorities into action in your life, your lists and a calendar are your very best friends. Setting boundaries around your available time helps to keep you focused and efficiently working ‘smart’:
- Do a task carefully and do it right the first time;
- Focus on high priority tasks that matter the most;
- Don’t agree to do more than you can manage;
- Keep your schedule to the most essential activities and say “no” to the rest;
- Do low priority tasks last or delegate where you can;
- Schedule time for yourself to refresh and make that a priority too.
3. Stay Focused
When you are working on significant goals that are aligned with your values and priorities, any stress or distractions can disappear in a stream of enthusiasm and energy. Focus and flow promote efficiency, a sense of accomplishment, self-confidence and satisfaction.
To stay focused:
- Commit to daily practices that keep you on track and keep your intuition and creativity at their peak – meditate, exercise, get a massage regularly.
- Do one thing at a time – your brain will thank you!
- Avoid distractions – keep your focus on high priority tasks and ignore invitations to low priority diversions.
- Clear clutter – clean out emails, get rid of excess information create a compatible work and living space
- Try some yoga poses, go for a walk on a break to stay refreshed.
- Inhale some lemon or orange essential oil to relieve stress and boost your alertness.
4. Self Care
Self care is a vital part of work-life balance that keeps you fresh, healthy and more productive so you can manage the many demands of your life:
- Incorporate regular Breathwork and breathing techniques for release of stress.
- Get adequate sleep to stay alert and engaged;
- Take all of your vacation and totally disconnect – studies have shown that taking breaks and revitalizing make you more productive and balanced.
- Find ways to incorporate humor into your daily experience – laugh!
- Disengage from digital distractions regularly. (Put down your smart phone – go outside and look up at the sky!)
- Do at least one nice thing for yourself every week – schedule down time to have fun, connect with nature, family, spouse, friends.
- Find time to play – access your inner child’s sense of adventure and wonder.
- Find quiet moments in a day to check in with your thoughts and intuition.
Being busy and working hard have been a cornerstone of success and survival in many cultures but the personal sacrifices that have resulted from this mindset suggest that it is time to include well-being in the equation. Clarity about your path and a map to follow, gives you informed choice to decide what you say yes to and what you say no to.
“Human beings aren’t designed to expend energy continuously. Rather, we’re meant to pulse between spending and recovering energy.”
~ Tony Schwartz CEO Energy Project