Ah, the quest for balance... for me, it's a battle between work and life. Although they are intertwined in my daily life, the root of my imbalance is the emotional and mental processing of work that seems to consume me. We've all been there, and I'd venture to say that a majority of my Gen Y peers are experiencing the same game of tug-o-war... (This article and this article prove we are.) We're working our way up the ladder of succes, worrying about covering our school loan debt and putting food on the table, fighting for promotions, raises and respect that comes with making it to that next step in our careers - all in the same breath as trying to learn who we are, have a decent social life, and venture into the domestic life a bit. It's a lot to handle, but Gen Y'ers are fighting this battle on a daily basis and seemingly have a never-ending supply of hope. Hope to make it, be successful, and have some balance in the process.
I found this great blog post, "9 Tips for Work-Life Balance" by Lindsay Olson, on U.S. News Careers Blog. I think these are all great ideas, worth noting and discussing:
1. Be 100 percent who you are. Deserving of the #1 spot, staying true to yourself is the most important step in maintaining or accomplishing balance. If you are finding yourself feeling disappointed in your decisions or actions in a day, than you're not being who you are and need to change things. Going hand in hand with this is that you need to do what you love. Coming home, day after day, feeling negative about your work is a message you need to hear - you're not loving what you're doing, and eventually, it's going to suck the life out of you. Do what you love. It makes work so much easier.
2. Be more organized at work. To-do lists, calendars and sticky notes are the epitomy of my organization at work. My to-do list and my calendar are truly my life-blood; if it's not on there, it's probably not going to get done, much less remembered. Keeping these updated and synched has proved very beneficial towards my organization. Unfortunately, I'm the ultimate procrastinator - partly because I simply work better and produce better results when I'm under pressure (I think). One of the ways I tackle my procrastination is I complete whatever project/task I'm least looking forward to first thing in the morning.
3. Find hobbies. I love this one - it's the "unknown" in the initial battle for balance and proves to make a big impact. For example, during my first 6 months in the "real world" I came to the realization that I had ZERO friends who lived the same rhythym as me - read: 9-to-5 and weekend warrior. I realized very quickly I needed to leverage the few hours I had after work during the week to participate in some hobbies that would help me meet some friends. You know my long-term love affair with volleyball, so I took a risk and attended a Free Agent Night for the local Parks & Rec teams. What a difference this made! Not only have a met a dozen amazing friends, but this is where I met Matt. Everytime I'm discussing "getting out there" and "finding balance" with my family & friends, I suggest a hobby because it truly does make a huge impact on your life.
4. Plan your week. This one is for those of us venturing into the unknown world of domestic life. How are we supposed to work full-time, keep a clean house, do laundry, cook dinner and maintain some sort of social life?! The chances of accomplishing everything on your list in a week ebs and flows, but you can increase your chance for success, and even better spread it over the whole week with just a little planning. I'll be the first to admit that I'm constantly struggling to "do it all", but this basic step has made a huge difference for me: Plan your food on the weekends. This means planning, shopping and cooking if you can. This will make a huge difference in your week, and give your daily schedule a little breathing room for some of the "fun stuff" you want to be doing.
5. Enjoy your family. Lindsay has it right on this one: with the hustle & bustle in a work week it's easy to forget (or forego) quality time with your family. Eating dinner together every night, spending an hour before bed reading together or taking the dog for a walk together have been the ways I've ensured I'm slowing down, and spending time with Matt without any other distractions.
6. Learn to say no. What? I don't understand what you're saying.... It's a cronic disease I've unfortunately caught, and man oh man is it a hard habit to break. Learning to say "no" is crucial for maintaining balance, whether it be at work or to the variety of social opportunities that come up. It's a hard one at first to say much less master, but being honest with people, and allowing them to do the same, releases a huge stress on yourself and your life.
7. Institute a digital-free zone. What did we do in the time before iPads, iPhones and the DVR? We actually talked to each other, played outside, and had hobbies. Work these days somewhat demands your attention (and dependence) on technology; but setting perameters around these objects is crucial. For me, as much I want to institute a digital-free zone, it's incredibly hard to do. While we don't have a TV in our bedroom, our waking up and going to bed rituals include spending 5-15 minutes perusing emails, the news and maybe a game or two. The one place I am VERY good about eliminating technology from is vacation. Vacation is sacred, and is to be enjoyed in the present without having to tend to every ding, buzz and beep.
8. Exercise. Exercise is essential to balance in your mind, body and soul. This isn't a yoga commercial, but I can say that scheduling in exercise on a regular basis has made a huge impact on how I feel at the end of the day and end of the week. For me, the "scheduling" of exercise becomes a struggle if I don't accomplish #4: Planning my week. It's incredibly difficult to get home from work at 6, exercise, hit the grocery store and cook dinner all so we're not eating dinner at 9:00. Planning my week allows me the opportunity to hit the gym or take Star for a walk along with making dinner and eating at a reasonable time.
9. Be selective with your errands. Lindsay has this right as well - sometimes our free time is consumed by errands and chores. While this is unavoidable at times (like leading up to vacation), it isn't sustainable. In my opinion, this is another one that goes hand-in-hand with planning your week. If you know you're going to be near a store you have to stop in, plan it into your schedule so you're not driving all over town. Another option is what Lindsay suggested, while being DIY'er is rewarding and usually budget-friendly, it's time consuming and it's worth asking yourself if the effort you're putting in is more valuable than just calling and paying a professional.
