The mystical dream of a work life balance
What does the magical, often seemingly unobtainable phrase work life balance really mean?
Our lives seem to get crazier all the time, days roll into nights, weekdays into weekends, months into years, and how many times have you asked yourself the question.. how on earth is it September already, or where did March go?
As a husband, business owner, father of 5, involved in my kids school, sporting teams and clubs, fostering, volunteering, and whatever other craziness we can fit into our life, I’ve certainly had to wrestle with what that balance looks like for me and for my family.
When my eldest was only 1 or 2 years old, he would often get Daddys work or Daddys office mixed up, so he’d often talk about coming to visit daddy at his wokkoffice, and I realised pretty quick just how important it was to be able to leave work at the wokoffice and not bring it home everyday. And often it’s not just the actual work, it’ the emotional, physical, and mental strains that can so easily linger at the end of the day, and prevent us really being present once we get home.
There was a funny kids book we got out of the library when my kids were young, and it was all about when Dad came home from work without a head – as he’d left it at work. His body was at home, but no one ever knew where his head was until they found it at work.
Of course, it’s not just an issue for those of us with kids, it’s not all cats in the cradle, because finding a balance in life is vitally important for all of us, it’s critical for our physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing. Its actually critical in helping us be effective in what we do in all area of our lives, whether at work or at home.
There are so many different competing demands for our time, our attention, our thoughts, our finances, emotions, and our energy. How do we go about unpacking some of these demands, understanding the affects that they have on our health, how we can better manage our time, our resources, the things that we can do to give ourselves the best opportunity to really meet the demands of life head on, maybe even with a smile, and enjoy the things that really do matter most to us.
Lot’s of big questions that for the most part only you can really answer. You may not always know what that answer is or should be, but what is most important, and completely in your control, is that you keep on asking yourself the questions. What do I really value? What are my priorities?
Make what matters to you central to your life – make decisions and choices that reflect that position – and you will be well on the way to finding not only a balance in life, but a sense of genuine fulfillment as well.
Author – Al Dickins Director HBP Group
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