How To Create A Perfectly Balanced Work-Life

2014-08-22 16:14:07 CPCC Blogging Team

If you are like most people, and have to work in order to be able to provide for your family, it is important to make sure that your work-life is balanced. Devoting too much time to your life outside of work can leave you jobless, while devoting too much time to your job can lead to broken personal relationships.  A balance between the two is both possible and realistic, including feeling emotionally engaged with your family and friends after you finished working. To help ensure that you create the best balance between your work and personal life, make sure to consider these 4 factors:

1. Acknowledge your situation. Coming to terms with the reality of your unbalanced life is the first thing you must do in order to break free from it. It is important to find out what the problems that are leading to your unbalanced life are. Consider talking to a trusted friend and asking them what they see in your life.  Or if you feel overcommitted to work, perhaps you can journal for a week on reasons why you overcommit yourself to your job (external reasons like “my boss’ demands” or internal like “my fear of getting behind on our bills”)  By doing looking at your situation you will be one step closer to fixing the issue.
2. It is up to you. While many corporations try to do their part to make you feel a little bit better about spending the majority of your time at work, such as casual Friday’s at the office, they are not as helpful as they may seem. It is up to you to take charge of your own life, and make moves towards a more balanced life.
3. Consider the time frame. Many people get stuck in the notion that they will live a more balanced life when they are retired. While retirement may seem like the only time you will have enough freedom to do what you want, it also means that you spent much of your life not being balanced. Changing your lifestyle takes more than a day, but you should not have to spend more than half of your life waiting to make a change either.   
4. Start small. Not all life changes have to be major in order to create a more balanced life. Doing something as simple as taking off early from work one day a week to spend time with your children can help to create the balance that is needed in your life.

For more tips on how to create a balanced work-life, and better your life, contact Community Presbyterian Counseling Center in San Ramon, California!

Mental Health