As an MBA student, I haven’t succeeded in balancing my work schedule and my life. But that’s the point of the rigor, right? To see if we can prioritize? To see if we can juggle? To see if we can hack it?
Well, I did a little reading up on work life balance and wanted to share my findings. A more balanced life will create a more successful person.
There are many theories, rules, lists, to do’s and to don’ts when it comes to work life balance. Many people have tried to find the absolute answer to all of life’s struggles in these lists. However, as the millenials move into the work force, we are seeing a shift in work life balance. Millenials never stop working but at the same time never stop playing. There are pool tables in office buildings, gyms are not only being used early in the morning and in the evenings, some places have arcades and most allow a flexible work schedule so as long as you get your work done and are in the office for a set period of time, when and how the work is done is up to the individual. Tweeting, texting, facebooking and instagramming may never stop but I believe as our generation settles down to have families while moving up in careers, a sense of work ending and your other life beginning will have more importance. At that point, these lists will become more important as the juggle holds more than just career goals.
In his book, Howard’s Gift, Eric Sinoway states that the term work-life balance is much too simple to explain the struggle. He says it is more like “juggling an egg, a tennis ball and a knife while walking on a balance beam — at the Olympics.” And even as overwhelmed as we, single, twenty-something MBAs feel, a middle manager with a pending deadline and three kids, a mortgage, an ailing parent, and a working spouse might have a little more on their plate. At both stages, remembering the juggling act we are performing and maintaining a conscious effort to simplify things will help us not only stay sane, but achieve our goals without the threat of burnout. As we go through our lives, we actually live at least seven lives according to Sinoway, the family self, the social self, the spiritual self, the physical self, the material self, the avocational self, and the career self. We balance each of these self’s needs on an ongoing basis. But when we feel dissatisfied in our lives, we need to reflect on which self needs more attention and focus on that part. If we realize we have neglected our friends, we need the social self, if we have felt like we are running in circles but not advancing our careers, that is the self that needs the attention. A key to this reflection though is to be honest with ourselves and not be unaware of our capabilities, strengths as well as limitations. [1]
To keep our priorities in line, here are a few things we should always remain mindful of. Work is not more important that health, family, quality relationships and endeavors of faith. Stress can come on when we let work take over everything and stop to have time for ourselves. Later I will discuss things successful people do on weekends that align with this idea. “We control our calendars; our calendars do not control us.” Think of all the times we wish we could have been home for dinner, or any time we see a good friend and realize there has not been any time for that person when we really have wanted to or even needed to. In order to avoid those moments, we have to carve out time and write on the calendar family dinners and nights with friends because the things on the schedule are the things that are more likely to get done. It is also important to use time wisely. When running, maybe listening to a book you have been meaning to, or do productive things with friends when the schedule will not allow for hours in a restaurant. By combining tasks, time works for us and will be more fulfilling.[2] When priorities get messed up and it is difficult to decide how to proceed, the best way to deal with that is by thinking of the legacy we want to be remembered by. By reflecting on that, we can see where our true priorities lie and know to focus our energies there. [3]
When in doubt, take advice from the pro’s. Forbes’ Jacquelyn Smith compiled a list of what top level business people say they do when they are not at their nine to five. And these are the people that nine to five is twenty four seven but even they insist that weekends be for a time to step back from work responsibilities. Make time for family and friends- as stated again and again, family and quality relationships help ease the burdens in life and help us to remain happy. Exercise- stress is hard on the body and exercise not only can help battle the toll from stress but also creates better confidence in appearance and make us healthier, the act of exercising will make you happier and achieving goals will create a sense of accomplishment. This is also an easy way to use time efficiently by allowing for time to think and be creative for things both in and out of the office. It is also easy to create a group that walks, runs, bikes, swims, etc, together to make deeper personal connections with the people in the office (particularly influential people). Pursue a passion – often even if we love the job, it does not fulfill a creative side that we have, by playing an instrument, joining a dance class, taking up hang gliding or whatever piques our interest, it will help us remove ourselves from the work week and refresh. “Successful people make time for what is important or fun. They make space for activities that add to their life balance.” Things like gardening, crafts, games, sports, cooking and cultural activities can also fulfill that need to pursue a passion. Vacation – get away from work, take the vacation time needed to be physically away from the office and from the routine. By shaking things up, we can get a better idea of how to do things, be reminded of new or old passions, and the office can see how much they actually need you. Disconnect – the executives interviewed for this article said they take some time every single weekend away from any type of email or phone. It may be just a long walk, but some said Saturday evening until Sunday around noon, they are almost unreachable. Email bombards and overwhelms us, taking some time away from it will not end the company and will give some much needed relaxing time. Volunteer – giving back to the community gives a sense of joy and community. Don’t do a lot of chores so that by Monday you are exhausted from the work from the weekend. Plan for Monday so the ball can get rolling immediately. Socialize – we are social creatures and get energy from being around people. A great way to use that time is to network in the same space. Reflect and meditate on the accomplishments from the past week, month, year and think about what you want to accomplish in the next week, month, year. By meditating and calmly thinking about hopes and dreams instead of planning with a pencil and a calendar, we can think more imaginatively. Recharge by using the weekend to take a deep breath and get back to who and what we love so come Monday we will not still be bogged down by the stress of last week, but ready and willing to move ahead through the challenges to come.[4]
Creating a balance in work, life, and our seven selves, we allow ourselves some much needed time to get back to ourselves. We will succeed faster because Monday through Friday we are able to give 100% because there is no huge part of ourselves missing. As millenials take over the work force, we will need to become aware of the strength of our work ethic as well as the weaknesses and vulnerabilities we open ourselves up to. With smart phones and social media, work is now well over the 40 hours, we should make sure our personal life and needs get enough attention as well.
Joie de Vivre 