Work - Life - Self Balance - have you got it sorted?

I finished my last article with the words “Yes, I said work, life, self balance”

I thought I had this work-life balance thing sorted a few years ago. I put half my effort into work, and half my effort into life so my work - life balance should be sorted - right??

I went to London on a Monday Morning, did the WORK part all week and then came home on a Friday - Friday evening, Saturday and Sunday would be a blur of doing the LIFE bit - visiting all the people I needed to see, Parents, In laws, friends....not forgetting the Husband...as well as all the things I had to do so our LIFE carried on as normal...my laundry, his laundry, meals for the freezer, meals for the dog, sorting out who was walking the dog every day for the next working week, had we got all appointments covered, was somebody cleaning the house, did they have a key, shopping, sending stuff back - and then showing up at social events trying to be the life and the soul, on top of a Sunday roast every Sunday - because I couldn’t let the LIFE half suffer....right??

WRONG - sure fire way to burn out, of course, but I was missing the point - and I think a lot of people are:

A lovely, wise man told me that it is a three legged stool, this balance we seek (because a stool with two legs falls over) and to research his theory, I looked at Work Life Balance according to Wikipedia:

“a concept including proper prioritizing between "work" (career and ambition) and "lifestyle" (health, pleasure, leisure, family and spiritual development/meditation)”.

So he is right about the three-legged stool because that list of things falls into three categories, not two:

Work - Career and Ambition - this should be about you - career and ambition needs to fulfil YOU. Not ‘because you have to go to work’, Not ‘because you don’t know how to do anything else’ not being stuck in a job or career where you feel you are being overlooked or know you can do better...Your Career and Your Ambition takes up one third of this balance so it needs to satisfy you and bring you joy - not the complete opposite!

Life - So this is where my controversy comes in - I believe this is where it splits - and all too often, you see people thinking this part of the balance is running around after partners, children, parents, in-laws, pets even! And we have to do this stuff, we do! So here I am going to take Wikepedia Leisure and Family and for most of us that I hope would include some health, leisure and pleasure!

Self - This leaves Spiritual Development and Meditation which I believe belong in a whole category of their own and again I hope would include some health, leisure and pleasure!

But who on earth has time or inclination for all that stuff? Well spiritual development, (and meditation for that matter), come in many forms - my wise man and I agree that it is plain and simple taking time for YOU. It doesn’

t have to be yoga and group meditation (although don’t knock it till you’ve tried it!)

It might be an hour with a good book, a soak in the bath without interruption, listening to music, taking a long walk - but it is without question YOU TIME. Time for your mind and body to recover, recoup and recharge - without interruption.

It took me a long time to get this balance right in my life, it isn’t an overnight fix but once you get it, it changes perspective....whatever it is that works for you this weekend, take some time for YOU - book it out with your family and selfishly take it - everyone will benefit from it I promise!

I would love to hear what works for you...........

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With 14 years in the construction industry, Gina really started noticing the different ways women would behave in comparison to the men she worked with. She is now owner of Sirius Business Ltd. and a Facilitator for Her Invitation - The Female Empowerment Company. running workshops for all women regardless of position, work, home life or experience. Gina brings them alive with anecdotes and real tools for moving forward and making an impact - book your place here....