Today’s guest post comes from the very talented, Kathy Jenkins of Come to Order.
Remember Leave it to Beaver, I Love Lucy or Happy Days? Dad came home when the sun was still out and never thought about work until he left the next morning. Those were the good ‘ole days.
Today, in most families, both parents work, the job is far more demanding, and too often, we’re required to work late or bring work home just to keep up. In America, we tend to “live to work” while most European countries “work to live”. These are very different attitudes and thus produce very different results in terms of balancing work and personal commitments.
Wikipedia defines work-life balance as “a broad concept including proper prioritizing between “work” (career and ambition) on one hand and “life” (health, pleasure, leisure, family and spiritual development) on the other.” By that definition, creating and maintaining balance between work and life seems elusive.
The truth is, you can achieve a healthy work-life balance, but you must be willing to identify boundaries and, the tough part, live within them. You have to begin by evaluating the rank of importance of yourself, relationships and work in your life. If your relationships are more important, but your work has taken over, try to identify those activities that you really need to do, and those that you want to do. Here’s how:
Track your time & create a “Need/Want” Square. For one week, track how you spend your time, both work and personal activities. Categorize all of your activities in terms of “needing/not needing to do them” and “wanting/not wanting to do them” and then input them into a “Need/Want” Square. Now stop doing the things that appear in the “Don’t Need”/”Don’t Want” square!
Sounds simple, doesn’t it? Ok, so we both know it doesn’t always work that way, but it’s definitely a worthy goal. You owe it to yourself and your family to try to bring your work responsibilities and family commitments into line so you can concentrate more on “working to live” a fulfilling life! In part two of this series, we’ll give you some strategies to help you achieve a healthy work-life balance.
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About the Author
As a Certified Professional Organizer and Certified Family Manager coach, Kathy Jenkins can help you run a more organized, efficient, and happy household and raise happy, healthy, responsible, and well-mannered children! Visithttp://www.cometoorderva.com to learn more about her professional organizing services and one-on-one family manager coaching sessions. You can also follow her tips, advice, and recommendations by liking Come To Order on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/cometoorder
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