Work Life Balance. The Holy Grail of our time. If you have it, you’re the envy of your colleagues and friends alike. The Champ. If you don’t, then you’re washed up and stressed out. The Chump. Is it really as simple as that? And why only “Life“?
What is it Exactly?
It’s what it says. The balance of Work against your Life. There’s work and then the rest of your life. Keeping your boss at work happy and your boss(es) at home happier.
This topic has been in discussion for as long as life itself… and work too, for that matter. Since the very first Boss got the very first Worker to break just a few more stones, that meant he was late back to the cave, and thus had a falling out with the very first Wife.
It’s important to understand what we want to achieve, here. From my perspective, it’s not simply, Work and then Life. There’s much more to life than work. Something we’d all be quick to acknowledge.
Therefore, I prefer the term Life Balance. The term Work Life Balance was probably created as a snappy phrase either by a Consultant, being paid by a Company to make them look good. OR, by a Boss being paid by a company to make it look good. It’s simply a one-sided gesture.
How Does One Achieve Life Balance?
From the Coaching perspective, there are several elements to Life. Of which, Work is just one. In general there are:
- Family and social relationships
- Personal Finances
- Health recreation and leisure
- Career and education
- Mental and spiritual well-being
- Charitable endeavours
- Routine responsibilities
Therefore, from this split, we can conclude the Goal should be to achieve a Life Balance. An equal or appropriate measure of each.
One approach to Coaching, is to take each of these elements and examine how well we do or don’t do in it. It’s a very revealing process. It shows where our priorities lie and more importantly, how and why we prioritise things.
Whoever you are, there’s always something in life that doesn’t work quite as well as we’d like. Work is simply one of those elements. Within it are more pieces, which together complete the picture. What’s important is how you prioritise the pieces within your work and career. The same is true for all the other elements. Ultimately, all should support each other.
What Would Life Balance Look Like?
A very subjective question if ever there was one. The answer, for me at least is that Life Balance will look the way I want it to be. When I’m happy with what and how I contribute to each element. In reality, we have very little or no influence over external things that affect our lives. We can only influence the things in our control. What WE do to and for ourselves.
For example, it’s unlikely that all of the elements will have equal priority, but the key is that the sum of the parts has no fractions. By that I mean: do your best in each one. Give 100%, and you can’t go wrong. Whether it’s going to be one hour of one element or one day on another. Give it the time you can afford and best shot you can.
In Summary
We can’t doubt that work is an important element in the life list. We spend more time on it than most things. However, like all of the others, it has to fit. Daily tasks and the entire career alike, must take the other parts into account and compliment them above all else.
Life Balance doesn’t mean that we spend an equal amount of time on each part. What it does demand is that each gets the time it deserves, without detriment to another.
Coaching is good a way to focus on the work element and ensure that all of the others don’t suffer. Practice makes good things permanent through planning and practice. Contact me to help you achieve your Life Balance. It’ll be a pleasure!
Until next time,
Your Coach Ben
