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I love my job. And yet I've realized that having a great job simply isn't enough. Not by a long shot. America is filled with stories of "successful" people who have no personal lives outside of their work. I don't want to become that guy. For the past three months I have been obsessed with a relatively simple question: how do I perfect my work-life balance?
As many of my readers are top performers and talented leaders it is possible that you too, are susceptible to leading an unbalanced life.
I have recently learned that by taking the time to find my own work-life balance, I am happier, more energetic, and ironically I'm more productive too. I believe that by taking the time to find your work-life balance, you will experience similar results.
Here are my four favorite strategies:
1) Understand that balance is fluid: Everything around us is always changing; few people will be able to create a hard and fast routine that results in balance. I tried this for a while. Keeping the routine up day in and day out was not only boring, it was impossible. I found that a well-balanced Monday will not necessarily look like a well-balanced Tuesday. They are different animals.
2) Respect your personal priorities: I love my work but there are things that are more important to me. If a family member, close friend, or my girlfriend, calls during the workday, I will almost always take their call. This is new for me. I used to only deal with personal matters before or after my workday; but the people close to me are more important than my work, so I changed that policy. Whatever your priorities are - reading awesome books, perfecting your downward facing dog, or winning trivia night with your friends - make sure you're reserving time for the personal things that matter the most to you.
3) If you have to make a big change, keep the rest of your spheres stable: If are you planning on taking a trip to a foreign country (perhaps you're becoming an international volunteer!), starting a business, running for an elected office, or making any other big change in your life, then take time to ensure that the other spheres of your life (finances, relationships, spirituality, health, etc) are stable before you take on your new project. By ensuring that most of your life is stable, reliable, and running smoothly, you will be much better equipped to make significant progress in a new endeavor.
4) Observe Super Sunday: Super Sunday's are my favorite balance trick. By nature I lead a disciplined life: daily exercise, healthy foods, about 7 hours of sleep a night, minimal amounts of alcohol, caffeine, and television, and anywhere from 6-11 hours of work per workday. That type of discipline can produce awesome results; it can also become boring and soulless. To counteract the discipline, I give myself one day a week to obey my whims, and I call it Super Sunday (even if I decide to do it on a Tuesday). On Super Sunday I am likely sleep late, eat an entire pizza for lunch, spend more money than I should, and watch unreasonable amounts of TV.
The point of Super Sunday is to spend a day ignoring discipline. This is not only fun, it makes the structure and discipline of the rest of the week more inviting. Do you lead a highly disciplined life too? If so, consider giving yourself one day a week to indulge your whims. This is not only fun, but zenfully, it will help you achieve higher levels of performance too.
I have been pleasantly surprised by the side effects of finding a better balance for myself. I believe that if you take the time to find balance in your life - whatever that happens to be for you - you will achieve more, feel happier and more energetic, and be able to lead at a higher level. I know that balance has done that for me.
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