Best Hacks for Work-Life Balance
Work-Life Balance is an elusive thing. Some argue that it does not exist. That it is, in fact, a constant calibration. Sometimes work requires more of you, sometimes your family requires more of you. Sometimes YOU require more of YOU.
Here are 3 ways I’ve learned to “hack” this work-life balance thing:
1- BLOCK YOUR TIME. Don’t roll your eyes. I know it sounds simple. IT IS! And it works! If you haven’t tried it, please humor me. We all have 24 hours in day. 8 of those are or should be spent sleeping. (More on sleeping later) That leaves 16 hours to do everything else. Now here’s the trick. If you block out time for all the important things first – the LIFE things- you time, family time, relationship time, accomplishing your dreams time… you’ll feel a lot more balanced. There will always be more work to do. If you fill out all the work stuff first, you won’t have any time left for life. So do it in reverse, write everything that is important to you or that you’d ideally like to do: breakfast with a friend, calling your mom, playing with your kids, etc. (try to stick to the plan as much as possible!) Then use the time left over to WORK. If you prioritize your work tasks and have time constraints to get them done, I guarantee making a LIFE for yourself will actually make you be more productive at work.
My favorite tool for this which I wrote an entire post about, is the Best Self Journal. Here’s a link. You’ll thank me.
https://bestself.co?rfsn=1842260.c39767
2- DELEGATE. This one is still tough for me but it really is the ticket to success. A very wise person once taught me, “Anything that you don’t love to do or are not good at, you should outsource. If you can pay someone to do tasks for you less than you can charge for that same time, then that is not cost, that is an INVESTMENT.”
I know it’s hard. I know sometimes people don’t do things the way you would do them. And then you need to “fix” them. And you think it’s easier to just do them yourself. I get it. Trust me. But again, the only way for others to learn to do things the way you want them to, is if you teach them. And the more they do them, the more they will practice and learn how to do things the way you want them. Be patient in the beginning. Show them. Explain how you want things done and why you want them done that way. At first, it will feel like you are wasting more time than just doing them yourself , but soon… very soon, you will be liberated of these mundane tasks and have more time to spend on things you love. Do you really want to be running to get that purple t-shirt they asked you to bring for Spirit Week? Believe me, most of the tasks that fill up our days can easily be delegated.
3- FIND YOUR JOY. It’s easy to feel caught in the hamster wheel. One day spilling into the next. All a blur. You know all you do is work but when you look back you can’t think of anything you’ve accomplished. Been there. So how do find your joy? I’ll tell you how. It’s in the little things. Play your favorite song on your phone as you’re showering. Sing it at the top of your lungs. Dance to it (nobody’s watching)! Be mindful. Watch and appreciate the world around you. Two friends as they embrace after not seeing each other for a while. A baby’s laughter. A smile from a stranger. Be grateful. You woke up this morning! You are not sick! Start paying attention to all the things you normally take for granted.
