Of course, there is no ideal schedule that everyone must follow; we all have our own concept of what balance looks like in our lives. For me, I do not have much of a work-life balance, and I often tell others that it’s necessary to work with imbalance, especially if there is a lot of uncertainty in your typical day. I have valued my personal (and professional) development, finding avenues to apply learnings, and creating impact for others. My concept of balance is to be equally developing myself in these three areas.
Since there is no right answer when it comes to how you should split up your time with work and leisure, it becomes hard to find a split that works for you and your goals.
If you’re struggling with finding a system that works for you in regards to work-life balance, you’re not alone. It’s a trial and error process where you have to try out new schedules in hopes of finding a better organization of activities than your previous setup.
There are a few things to consider that may help reduce the number of trials needed to find a good balance:
- Priorities - try and balance out your time by being mindful of your current priorities, both short and long term. It can help in delegating certain tasks that need to be done first, and also give more flexibility for the remaining tasks.
- Health - your physical and mental well-being should not deteriorate as a result of adding more work to your schedule. Your health should take precedence over any other criteria when thinking about modifying your work-life split.
- Purpose - think about your current daily/weekly schedule and ask yourself if it’s allowing you to both reach your goals and be fulfilled. Perhaps you would benefit from spending more time with friends and family, or feel more fulfilled by putting more time into a passion project. These decisions should always answer the “why?“