Many of my coaching clients laugh when the
concept of work/life balance is mentioned. Some have come to resent it because
it implies their lives are unhealthy. Why
should they feel guilty about not wanting to stare at their navels when they
would rather obsessively do what they love? They insist that forcing themselves to balance
their activities leaves them feeling more overwhelmed than refreshed.
What’s similar about these women who reject
the notion of work/life balance is the level of passion they have for their
work. When they find their work gives
them a strong sense of purpose and satisfaction, they happily work from early
morning to late at night. Even if they spend
quality moments with their family and squeeze in time for self-care, they don’t
see the need to equally balance their schedules.
One woman told me she felt lost before she
found the job she over-commits her time to. She works for a no-kill animal shelter. When not at work, she thinks about how to
improve the care of her “children” and raise funds for the shelter. Before she found this work, she spent more
time with friends but often drank too much and then squandered her weekends
nursing hangovers. She still shares
moments with two good friends and visits her sister’s family on holidays, but
loves her active life at work. She is
happily out of balance.
Instead of working on equally balancing
activities, I work with these clients on balancing their minds and bodies. They can happily live with their passionate
obsession if they don’t tip into mental and physical fatigue. Here are some tips for maintaining mental
balance when you reject work/life balance.
1. Keep your body healthy.
If you want to maintain a long work
schedule, then you need to keep your body in good working order. Start the day with exercise so you don’t end
the day with no time for the gym (go outside before you read your email!). Make sure you eat healthy meals instead of gobbling
anything down in quick breaks. Sleep at
least seven hours so you are at your peak for the other seventeen.
2. Maintain social bonds.
No matter if you think you don’t need
anyone’s help, you are a human with social needs. You need to feel accepted and cared about by
a few close adults. Also, when you have
good interactions with others, you activate the brain regions that improve
health and increase creativity and productivity.
Go to a movie once a week with a friend and
enjoy some time after the show talking about what you saw. Eat meals together. Take walks. Lay on the ground and watch the sun cross the
sky. Your social connections will help
you do your best work.
3. Regularly notice the world around you. I
get acupuncture once a month to reset my overtaxed body. It was my acupuncturist who first told me that
I was disconnected. He then prescribed a
daily dose of going outside, smelling the air and feeling the ground beneath my
feet. When I reconnect with nature, I
reconnect with my soul.
Balance your body and mind if you would
rather not balance your activities by breaking for exercise, breaking bread
with those you love, and taking moments to connect with nature. You can still work
into the night and wake up excited about the work you will do next.
Read
more about Marcia Reynolds and her book, Wander Woman: How High-Achieving Women Find Contentment and Direction at www.WanderWomanBook.com
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