A Healthy Work/Life Balance

Do you find yourself saying yes to many things, both work and social related, and then find it quite difficult obtaining a good balance between them?

Getting the balance right can provide you with tremendous benefits, but are you struggling to find this so called "balance"?

Finding a balance is so important, and also positively impacts on your friends, family and coworkers.

Assess your current state of balance. On a regular basis, think how you're feeling at that moment so you can work out what needs tweaking.

Understand your triggers. This is a really key element. Being able to recognize the events or actions that trigger different states of balance will help you anticipate stress. Knowing what your positive or negative triggers are will help you work on solutions in advance and talk yourself down from that "stress cliff".

We've all been there, some more than others. Once your stressed and have worked yourself up onto the metaphorical "stress cliff" it's so very hard to think calmly and rationally. 

Think back on episodes of being in and out of balance, how did you feel? What was your trigger? Then you may be able to identify any patterns or common themes, and recognise these when they start to happen again. Take some deep breaths and give your stress trigger the flick (or the finger, which ever is more effective for you!)

Benefits of a healthy Work/Life balance

For most people, a healthy work/life balance means getting an acceptable share of time between their needs and those of others around them, whether in the workplace or in your private life. Many people experience firsthand how spending too much time at work can negatively impact their personal life. Conversely, being pulled by too many demands from home can make it hard to concentrate on work. Whether there's too much focus on work, or too little, when your work life and your personal life feel out of balance, the result is stress.

To establish a balance in your life, you need to review the various demands and responsibilities you have, both at work and at home. Then you need to determine your priorities and figure out a way to accommodate all the important things you need and want to do.

Each time you try to make a change in your life, it's likely you'll face both internal and external obstacles. 

Internal vs External Obstacles 

So what are Internal obstacles? Internal obstacles include attitudes toward change, attitudes about your personal ability to change, the need to feel important, and the tendency toward procrastination. Basically a bit of self-bashing. To overcome internal obstacles, eliminate negative thinking, believe in your ability to change, prioritize, and talk to someone you trust. All easier said than done of course, but perhaps just reading those points in short, succinct form, will at the very least, encourage you to think about this a little deeper.

What are External obstacles? External obstacles come from people, your organization, or resources. External obstacles also have to be talked through with someone who can make a difference, and who you can ask to take action. You need to be factual in asking for what you want, and reasonable and polite in telling the person how to help you. 

     

Sometimes in a work situation, your external obstacle simply cannot be helped. However your Internal obstacle can ALWAYS be changed, as these thoughts are purely your own. Your hesitation to change, your un-willingness to want to embrace something new or different. Your Internal obstacle is your opportuntity to give yourself a pep talk and work at these obstacles bits at a time. 

Do you watch Offspring? A huge reason why I love this show, is because I can highly relate to the self pep talks that Nina Proudman has with herself. 

"Don't be silly Nicole, no one will think less of you if you make decision A or B"       

"Now come on Nicole, you can do better than this"

"Stop talking, just stop talking. Why are you still talking. Oh god this is awkward. Just smile"

My internal monologue is a no-nonsense blonde and has talked me down from many a stress cliff.

Having a healthy work/life balance is important, and the balance that's right for you won't necessarily be right for your coworker or your friend. And it may not be right for you next year either. Anyone can create a different idea of what the perfect work/life balance should be. But it will inevitably be a dynamic concept, since it has to change many times throughout life, as the circumstances of life and work change, and you yourself change. The whole purpose of this blog is to promote and encourage change, we want to change for the better!

Images: Google Images