We all have heard that it is important to strike work-life balance. That working long hours can be harmful to employees and devastating to families. But how do you do IT! Strike that balance?
Many who do not have balance describe their jobs as highly demanding, chaotic and exhausting. It is taken for granted that these types of jobs require working long hours in order to be successful at them.
Is it truly necessary that in order to be successful, one has to work long hours? How does one resist working all of those long hours?
Studies have shown the answer to the first question is No!
The answer to the second question is a little more complicated. It requires one to question assumptions (aka reflexivity) and increase self-awareness. This is not a one and done, rather this is a continuous cycle of activity as our circumstances change.
Some questions to ask yourself:
What is causing you to feel stress, unbalance or dissatisfaction?
How is it affecting my performance? my personal life?
What am I prioritizing?
What am I sacrificing?
After you have increased your situational awareness, look inward.
How does it make you feel?
Awareness of your emotions is important in order to make changes in your work and in your life.
What am I willing to sacrifice and for how long?
Why do I feel that it is important to prioritize in that way?
What regrets do I have?
What are the alternatives?
Once you have answered these questions, set out to implement changes that enable you to reprioritize how time is spent in such a way that it lines up with your true priorities. Do it publically!
Practice, practice, practice!
“Managing Yourself: Work-Life Balance is a Cycle, Not an Achievement” by Lupu and Ruiz-Castro, Harvard Business Review, January 29, 2021.
Photo by Los Muertos Crew on Pexels.
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