One of the things I set out to do when I started my own company was to create something that promotes the idea of life balance. Life balance doesn’t mean being lazy or sacrificing success, actually it’s quite the opposite. I define “Life Balance” as: A combination of working hard and achieving goals professionally while making time for personal/private life and down time. By doing this you set yourself up for greater success as a whole. It’s that balance that gives you the strength to continue to achieve. Without it people become very one dimensional and all the professional success in the world can’t make up for the emptiness of not having any private life. Just as on the flip side, without the professional side there will be a constant struggle for survival.
I came across a post on Zenhabits.net this morning I think it makes some good points about helping find that balance. Here are the key points:
1. Write down your top priorities
2. Reduce one commitment.
3. Simplify your to-do list.
4. Set aside some disconnected time.
5. Create your perfect day.
6. Declutter.
The two that I think that are most important are numbers
4. Set aside some disconnected time. If you’re connected all the time, this step is essential. Don’t skip it! Pick one hour to be disconnected — no Internet, no email, no IM, no phones. You can use your computer, but just for desktop computing, like writing in a word processor or text file, or working in Photoshop, or what have you. Use this time to really focus, to pour yourself into important tasks that you love to do. Or you can use this disconnected time to relax.
and
5. Create your perfect day. You’ve blocked aside some disconnected time, but let’s take that a step further: what would your ideal day look like? What would you do when you woke up, what would your work day look like (hint: it doesn’t have to be the work you’re doing now, but it could be), would you have time for exercise or sports or taking a walk or relaxing or reading or doing a hobby, would you have time for loved ones, time to clean or do errands, time for checking email, etc.? List the things you’d do, ideally, then simplify to the most important ones. Then lay them out in a schedule. You don’t have to stick to this schedule exactly, but knowing what’s ideal gives you something to work toward. In some cases, you can simply start living this day, tomorrow, but in others you’ll have to make gradual changes to allow this ideal day to happen. The key: taking control and responsibility for making the perfect day a reality.
Or, actually a combination of the two. It’s important to build time into every day to switch of the stressors and do things that replenish strength and wash away stress. It could be exercising, relaxing, yoga, spending time with family and loved ones, etc. Try it today! Set aside some time to do one thing you enjoy and start bringing that seesaw closer to a life of balance.
You can read the full article here: Your Life, Simplified
