The term “work-life” balance has been around for a few years now. It was fundementally coined to enable those people who are overworked and developing stress issues to focus more on a balance rather completely focused on just work.
Now the work-life balance may seem like an easy thing to achieve…right? But on further discovery especially around my closer friends, I am discovering that the fundemental techniques to lead a balanced life is often quite difficult.
Some of the people I have asked say “yeah sure I have a balance… straight after work I come home and my boyfriend cooks me dinner and we sit in front of the tv catching up on documentaries”… Wrong!
” I didn’t think I had a work-life balance – so I joined a gym”…Wrong!
This is not a balance – this is a continuation
In order to achieve a balance you need to set time in the day to achieve a well rounded involvement in all aspects of your life.
Now I would be lying if I said I had the perfect balance but I shall begin to give you an insight into how it is achieved.
1) Sleep – Sleep is by far the biggest area you need to focus on. We need 8 hours sleep a night in order to really re-charge for the full day. Prioritising sleep over any other activity is the most imporant. Winding down and getting between those sheets to allow yourself that full sleep is the most important factor in achieving the balance.
2) Food – What we put into our bodies is the key to health and success. Take time to nourish your body – it is yours! No-one else is going to look after it for you. Grabbing quick and cheap bites on your way to work, or buying food out on your lunch or putting a microwave meal in when you get home late from work is not going to cut it. Wake up – make breakfast! When you come home in the evening use that time to be creative – make your lunch for the next day! you will feel more involved in your own life spending time making your lunches than sat (probably again of you have a desk job) all night infront of the tv.
3) Exercise – Now I am not talking about adding an extra stress here – an elongation of work – more hours spent doing activites that put pressure on you… NO. What I am talking about is daily movement. You need to walk 10K steps in order to maintain health. How you fit this into your diary is up to you. I use pacer app to log my steps. So whether you are a yoga guru, a running machine or a weight lifter… get this app and check in with yourself. If you have gone all day with only doing 2000 steps – take yourself for an evening walk to clear your head before bed or to help digest your food.
4) Communication – So many relationships now are slipped in between the computer screen and the phone screen. You know we are all guilty of it. Coming home and managing to forge a conversation inbetween checking your instagram or flicking through emails. Drop the technology. Spend an hour every evening talking. You never know how much you could change your whole day or your partners, flatmates or family’s by just being present. Present in the room, present in conversation and present in communication.
5) Reading, playing music, a hobby – How many of us had a hobby when we were kids? hands up! yes a lot of us. Now as an adult… not so many. We all think there is not enough time etc etc. How about when you get home getting back into your hobby. Picking up your old guitar and learning a new song, candle making, getting involved in a really good book. All of these activities stimulate your mind. They are also fantastic in really involving your heart and soul into something. These types of stimulations really can give you some self-worth. Instead of coming home tired and dreary from work to sitting down and watching endless rubbish of the only way is here there and everywhere. Take back that time and make it yours.
I can’t help you with the stresses of your day to day work but by following these simple tips it can really make you feel that YOU own your life outside of the office hours.
Here is a visual of my work-life balance…
Tea – The Tea House – Candle – Parks – Headphones – Coby – Healing Foods – Neals Yard – Foot Scrub – The Body Shop – Tatler – Tatler
Remember – Work to Live not Live to Work
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