Keys for Balancing Work and Life

We have all had the experience of working to finish an important assignment when the phone rings and the school nurse says that we must pick up our child from school. You are lucky if you can get your spouse to pick them up or have a relative that can stop what they are doing to help, but many of us are not fortunate enough to have that kind of support system. Thus we struggle with balancing work responsibilities with family responsibilities.

Recently, I read a story about Alan. Alan was told that he was going to be taking over his boss's job who had recently quit because of health reasons. They kept promising him that they would come down from the corporate office to meet regarding the job. In the mean time, he was doing his job as well as his boss's job hoping for the reward of the promotion and possible bonus pay. He was working late and on weekends and sacrificing family responsibilities just to keep the office running. He even started avoiding his wife at home because he did not want to listen to her complain about his long hours. Remarkably, he kept this up for eighteen months before the corporate office finally met with him, but not before the stress nearly led him to attempt suicide and drove him to drugs to help keep up the pace. Most Life Work Imbalances are not this extreme, but it can lead to similar results.

Every employee's challenge is to balance the responsibilities of work with the responsibilities at home. The term Work Life Balance is a left-over term that dates back to the 20's through the 50's when people went to work and were literally cut off from the rest of the family for at least eight hours. Fifty to seventy-five years ago, the husband went off to work while the wife stayed home to take care of the children and the home. Today, both men and women struggle to take care of their responsibilities to their employer and family. 

The reality is that life does not end when you go to work. 

Stress related from balancing work and life generally boils down to a time and/or resource issue. Either you do not have the time to take care of the issue or you do not have the resources needed. You may be working because you need the resources (money). It will help to take more control of your life. Evaluate the aspects of your life (career, family, relationships, finances, fitness/diet, entertainment/leisure time, etc.) and decide what is really important to you and take action to accomplish it. When you have feelings of Work Life Imbalance, it means that something you feel responsible to take care of is not.

You can have anything you want, but you cannot have everything you want.

Some think that happiness means having no stress. This is unrealistic. There will always be a level of stress, but we must learn how to manage stress. Stress can be reduced if we learn to live our lives intentionally and purposefully. Steven Covey's first three habits in 7 Habits of Highly Effective People shows us how to order our lives. Below is a review of them (not in order):

1. Start with the End in Mind - Knowing what we desire from life and from work gives us direction. Prioritize your desires. What kind of values do you want to live by. How do you want to raise your children. What career do you want. How do you want to spend your money. Many want to drive a nice car, live in a nice house, put their children in private schools, build up a nice retirement account, and save for their kid's education. However, all of them may not be possible at the present, but you need a plan.
2. Put First Things First - Prioritize the aspects of your life; career, family, relationships, finances, fitness, and spiritual life. Determine what you want out of each area and set goals on how you can accomplish them. There will always be a give and take, but you need to have targets.
3. Be Proactive - Your are in ultimate control of your life. It may not seem so, but you are. Being proactive is determining how you want your life to be and doing what needs to be done to see it accomplished. 

 However you can find balance in your home and work responsibilities, you must find a balance that you can live with. 

• Evaluate your work and life and prioritize things. Everything is a give and take. Given your time and resources, prioritize the things that will bring the most effectiveness and satisfaction. 
• Negotiate a change with your employer. If you need more resources, put yourself in the position for a promotion or new job. If you need more time at home, ask for a reduction in time.
• Use technology to help. Our local Walmart and Kroger allows shopping online where you just pull up to the store and they bring your groceries to you. A great time-saving tool.
• Reduce financial burdens by scaling down and reducing costs of living. 
• Barter with other people to share costs or trade goods or services.
• Share your burdens with someone else.
• Let go of less important things.
• Learn to say no to things that require extra money or time.

Finally, remember that circumstances are temporary. Jobs and duties change, markets change, and children grow up. The things you are stressed out over today will just be a memory next year. Develop a plan that is flexible to change and be determined to work the plan, and you can have a better work life balance.

Free resource for Work Life Balance

The Eight Day "Figure It Out Course" --Prioritize your life:
http://www.happentoyourcareer.com/liveworkshop

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