I have never understood the concept of work life balance. I have been working for 40 years and this concept does not make sense to me. It is not realistic. On one hand, it seems like it should make sense and something we should strive for but it occurs to me more a guilt trip if we do not do this.
Life is like a seesaw. Sometimes we are up and sometime we are down and sometimes life is balanced or in the middle. My thinking is that when we are up, we have a lot of things going on both at work and family. We are in the zone. There is high energy and momentum. It is exciting and we can handle all of it. The truth is sometimes when we are up work, certain areas of our life require more attention such as work or family. It is not equal. It can be stressful at the same time. Being up is not sustainable all the time.
When we are on the bottom, at that resting state, it is more like we are stuck. Not much is going one. We might have just completed a large project at work are a family event or celebration, and we feel dead. There is no activity. No momentum. At this point, you need to determine how to get back up.
Being in the middle of the seesaw, the balanced position is a key time. It is not splitting work and family life 50/50. It is time to take for yourself. It is self-care. It is time to take out of each day to give you the quiet time to reflect and create. It might be yoga, walking, painting, and writing, working out or taking a bath. Anything that allows you time to think and create a new way to move the seesaw and enjoy your life to the fullest.
When was the last time you were on a seesaw? Notice the children’s faces next time you are at the park. They are fully self-expressed. When was the last time you felt that way?