Recently, I was asked what my best advice was for women maintaining a work-life balance. My answer was I don’t believe in work-life balance — and that’s the truth.
The only people worried about it are those who are uninspired by their work. The rest of us are engaged and enjoying what we do, so forcing some balance seems arbitrary and unnecessary.
For example, it is Sunday while I am writing this blog and most people might think if I were leading a balanced life I would not be working.
However, I have spent most of my day reading interesting articles about new business ideas, learning about what some amazing women are doing and bringing it to you in the way of upcoming blogs. I have enjoyed myself thoroughly, while pursing my deep desire to empower women. I did not need to look for balance.
At the same time, people pursuing their passion successfully are also usually good at taking care of themselves to ensure they have the energy, focus and creativity to be successful.
So let’s look at some of the most important ways you can keep yourself well-positioned for success by taking care of yourself — this is how I keep myself healthy and happy.
- I work on my important big tasks early in the day before meetings, email or other daily trivia can overwhelm my time. This always includes activity that is moving my BIG goal forward, since I know from experience that I become enthusiastic when I am working on something I feel passionate about. That enthusiasm seeps into everything else I do all day long.
- I plan my important tasks ahead of time for the week and usually end my work day with a list of what is important for the next day, rather than just take what comes. By planning ahead, I have more control over my time and am less at the effect of all the minor emergencies of life. And when real emergencies do take me away, I know what my priorities are when I resume, so I spend less time reconstructing my day.
- I avoid multi-tasking, so that my focus is on the task at hand. That way, I complete things faster, leaving me free to be present for my family and friends when I elect to.
- Eat healthy, home-cooked meals often using real ingredients that are as close to the way mother-nature provided them as possible. We are what we eat–it affects our moods, energy, focus and mental capacity. Although many busy people feel they cannot afford to take time to cook from scratch, my opinion is you cannot afford not to. This is one of the multi-tasking areas I indulge because cooking often becomes a social event for me–time to catch up with a child or friend while cooking together. With such a large household (4 kids plus a nephew who lived with us and often friends for dinner), I always cook large quantities that allow me to have home cooked leftovers eliminating the need to cook at every meal.
- Exercise regularly. I like to mix my exercise between long walks to clear my head, gardening to feed my soul and going to yoga or Pilates classes to build my strength.
- Lastly, something I am learning to do better — take “real” breaks, not pretend breaks from work. My fake breaks include looking at social media sites (which although are entertaining and a great way to learn about friends) usually end up including me posting on my business page or linking to articles that become research for a book or program. I get much greater rejuvenation from a phone call or dinner with a friend, or cooking a meal with one of my children completely away from anything work related.
- Enjoy life. Although I am working on a Sunday, I left my work behind yesterday to spend the morning with my daughter who will leave soon for her gap year travels. Then, a friend unexpectedly came to visit in the afternoon, and I went out to a movie and dinner with friends in the evening. Was there work that needed to be done? Yes, when isn’t there? But having fun is one of the ingredients to success.
I know the title of this blog is 8 tips for a more balanced life and I just gave you seven. The first and most important tip was in the intro. Do what you love, follow your passion and balance will happen because you will feel more alive!
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