HOW TO HAVE WORK LIFE BALANCE
Do you feel overwhelmed at work?
Be honest. I think we have all been there at some point.
I think now it is even a social expectation that if you say that you work a ton you get the automatic “poor you” look of pity. If you are a product of the 90’s corporate world like I am it was the exact opposite back then. We would brag about who got to the office first and who was the last to leave. It was a sign of success that you would work yourself to the bone. I do have to say all of us who did work the most also were the most successful.
Fast forward to today where the pendulum has swung in the complete opposite direction. We are made to feel like we should be working less and focusing on ourselves, yet our goals and quotas are higher than ever. The pressure to succeed especially in this economic environment is high.
So what are you supposed to do if you want to be successful but still have a happy personal life? Find true balance.
It sounds simple and the internet is full of suggestions on how you can instantly have this. The truth is it takes time and re-learning certain behaviors that are contributing to your inability to find true balance.
Sure it is great to research this and make a list of all the things that you are going to change etc but the problem with that approach is it is too much too fast and you end up getting frustrated and eventually go back into your old patterns.
As a person who suffered for years on how to have a true work/life balance I completely understand how you feel. I was programmed from my early corporate sales career to work 20 hours a day and then when I became an entrepreneur I thought that working 24 hours a day would be an even better idea.
Well, guess how that worked out? Sure I was successful and made a ton of money with a successful exit but I was miserable! I was overwhelmed, stressed, and had no time for myself and that led to burnout which eventually led to cancer. There is nothing like a cancer diagnosis to get you to truly change how you are living.
One of the most important lessons cancers taught me was balance. Real balance, sustainable, changes your life forever in the best ways balance. All of the myths and the programming I had about working myself to death and bragging about it stopped.
I also realized that the family I grew up in and am part of contributed to the way I was out of balance. I grew up seeing (and still see) my family working long hours and sacrificing themselves for the sake of their work. The funny thing about cancer is it makes you see everything clearly and makes you think about exactly the kind of life want from now on.
That is what started my journey to find true balance. It wasn’t instant and it took time and practice but it is the single best business move I have ever made.
Here is how I did it and continue to do it every single day. It is now a way of life and has finally given me what I was chasing all these years - true happiness.
I focused on these 4 areas in this order:
- Health
- Philanthropy
- Relationships
- Business
I wish I could say I had this instant “ah-ha” moment where this all happened quickly and easily but that is not true. There was a lot of trial and era and ways that failed. There were lots of tears and struggle and wanting to give up but I kept going. Once I healed from cancer and started to pay attention to how I did that I realized that I could apply the same methodology to all the struggles in my life. So... I did and that is when I stepped into true balance and everything fell into place and became much easier.
Here is how I applied it to my week last week and the results that it created.
- I worked from Mykonos last week as I was there the previous week for Easter. I decided to combine business and pleasure because my work is so personal it was easy to do.
- I had an incredible photoshoot and a few in-person meetings all while writing and supporting my corporate & entrepreneurial clients back in the US.
- It felt easy and joyful and I credit 100% of this to the fact that the foundation of my success is the method that I now swear by.
- In the area of HEALTH I made sure to keep up my Pilates-based stretches each morning and built them into my schedule like a client meeting. This helped me stay on track. I also booked a one-hour massage to release all the pressure in my shoulders and neck that were feeling very tight from all the travel (and typing lol).
- In the area of PHILANTHROPY I met with the founder of an incredibly amazing organization to discuss a fundraiser. This meeting was 2 hours long and left me feeling so inspired and got all my creativity flowing! Wait until you see what we are planning. I have never seen or heard of anything like this before!
- In the area of RELATIONSHIPS I spent time with my 7-year-old godson. We kicked around the soccer ball on the beach, played I spy and went out to a fabulous sushi dinner which we ended by ordering every dessert on the menu! It was such an amazing experience to spend quality time together. Relationships are the foundation of life.
- In my BUSINESS I am thrilled to say that ALL my clients are tracking to be over their Q2 goals and they are all in industries that are “struggling”. I shot incredible content for my brand and had so much fun doing it. I also had a prep call for a talk I am giving to a group of female executives in Boston. The topic? You guessed it - “work-life balance”!
I no longer count hours worked or stress about it. I focus on building solid, attainable, and meaningful goals in these four areas and use that as my baseline and so do all my clients.
I am living proof that if you want to find a work-life balance you can.