Balancing Act -- Spring 2008 Newsletter

Balancing Act

Finding a work-life balance is no simple task. Many of us spend more time at work than at home and we sometimes miss out on a rewarding personal life. Individuals tend to experience stress when their work life and personal feel out of balance.

In an article on Forbes.com, Stephen Covey, author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, said, “The challenge of work-life balance is without question one of the most significant struggles faced by modern man. I’ve surveyed thousands of audiences about their greatest personal and professional challenges. Life balance is always at or near the top.”

Getting your priorities clear is the first and most essential step toward achieving a well-balanced life. It is important to note, however, that:

Work-life balance does not mean an equal balance. Trying to schedule an equal number of hours for each of your various work and personal activities is unrealistic. Life is and should be more fluid than that.

Your work-life balance will vary over time. The right balance for you today will probably be different for you tomorrow. The right balance will differ when you are single opposed to when you are married or have children.

There is no one-size fit all approach to a work-life balance. The best work-life balance is different for each of us because we all have different priorities in life.

Work-life balance is very personal and it is different for everyone. Having a good work-life balance means that your actions and priorities are aligned in a way that is taking care of what is really important to you.

How do you define your own work-life balance?
· What are your values?
· What makes you happy?
· What are the barriers?

To help answer these questions, I recommend that you write your personal credo. “Credo” is a Latin word that means “fundamental beliefs or guiding principle.” What are the most important parts of YOUR life? To examine who you are and who you would like to be, it is helpful to identify the things in your life that you believe are important. The answers to these questions are YOUR guiding principles or personal credo.

Once you identify your guiding principles, describe what sacrifices or compromises you are willing to make in order to have a more well-balanced life. For example, if professional growth is one of your guiding principles, are you willing to pursue an advanced degree? What will you do to improve your work-life balance in the next week, next month, or next six months?

Testimonial
After months of suffering from chronic neck tension, I realized that I was not doing a good job of managing life’s many demands. It was when my employer sent me to a two-day workshop in Dallas that I learned about writing my own personal credo. The assignment was difficult, but I was able to come up with my top three guiding principles. My guiding principles include spending time with family and connecting with old friends, engaging in and supporting creative art programs and supporting my own emotional well-being. Writing my personal credo has helped me focus on the things I valued most in life and give less credence to those things placed on me by others. I gave myself permission to be a wee bit selfish, to schedule time for myself and ask for what I need from my family, friends, and business associates. As renowned opera singer Jessye Norman said, “Problems arise in that one has to find a balance between what people need from you and what you need for yourself.”

I encourage you to write your personal credo and take a step toward achieving a well-balanced life. To quote Paul Boese, “We come into this world head first and go out feet first; in between, it is all a matter of balance.”