What comes to mind when you hear the phrase “Work-Life Balance?” I’d love for you to really think about it for a minute before you read what I think. (Spoiler alert: I think work-life balance is misleading.)
For me, it has always evoked a variety of emotions–hopefulness, longing, skepticism, and shame. The hopefulness comes from the interpretation that it’s possible to achieve balance, where all things at work and in the rest of my life are attended to and complete. The longing comes from a desire for that to be possible and true. Skepticism creeps in when I start struggling in figuring out how the hell to achieve it. And shame comes in when I can’t.
How does that compare with your own feelings about it?
I think the term is misleading, frankly. The use of “balance” in there leads me to believe I should be achieving some sort of harmony. It implies simplicity. I don’t know about you, but my life is anything but simple. There are way too many young adults in my house for that. “Balance” also implies equalness. Work takes 50% of my time and Life takes the other 50%. Also simply not my reality.
Let’s try another term out.
“Work-Life SeeSaw” feels more descriptive. It implies a back and forth, where Work sometimes takes over and Life may suffer a bit. And sometimes it swings in the other direction where Life gets more time and attention, and Work goes on the back burner. It also better reflects the ups and downs, the turmoil if you will, that Work and Life both include.
Regardless of what you want to call it, most of us engage in both Work and Life. So it’s not a bad goal to try and find the perspective on it that helps YOU. For me, that comes in the form of “Not To-Do” lists. My time is finite, as I assume it is for everyone. That means there are simply things that don’t get done. Putting something off for months (or weeks, or years) is a strong indication for me that I need to either contract it out or suck it up and get it done. That’s true for both Work and Life.
Let’s share best practices.
What do you do to try and make sure neither Work nor Life are overtaking you? Are you willing to share a tip that helps you? I’ll bet it will help someone else, too. And if you want a guide to support you along the path, reach out. I’d love to connect.
