wellbeing – Productivity Success Cake

Why your understanding of balance is wrong

What does life-balance mean to you? Not necessarily the theory, but in practical terms? Is it committing to, and maintaining that New Year’s fitness routine alongside running a house, a job, the family, or is it something more?

You see, “balance” means different things to each of us. There is no right or wrong answer, no one way of achieving it and, sometimes, we get so engrossed in the concept of balance that actually achieving it becomes a no-go. We beat ourselves up because we perceive that the scales of life are just not balancing out and this sets us on that oh-so-familiar hamster wheel of discontent.

So, firstly, let’s take a look at 4 top tips for managing a balanced lifestyle.

1. Look After You

Are you the person to whom everyone turns in a crisis? Are you the family’s “Go-To” during their times of need? If yes, then that’s an awful lot of extra emotional “weight” being lumped on your shoulders. I’m not suggesting that you tell everyone to go find someone else to shoulder the burden, no. But, in order to maintain any sort of balance, we have to look after number one first. Your body needs rest, exercise and healthy food. Sure, all of that. But, it’s important to take time to focus on your needs and make sure you’re ticking over just fine before you focus on other people. It’s really okay to do what it takes to protect yourself from any negative energy or emotions coming your way. After all, how can you help others if you can’t help yourself?

2. Organization is Key

Being organized, and that includes mentally, too, allows your brain the flexibility to cope with any stress or disruption more easily. Plan that important “time-out” and make room for the things you enjoy. The key to life balance here is minimizing stress as far as possible.

3. Goals Work

How great does it feel when you can check something off your list as done and dusted? It doesn’t matter which area of your life, there’s sure to be a goal you can set. The successful attainment of a goal goes a long way to maintaining a healthy and positive mindset, improving your mood and helping that balance, too.

4. The Right Food = The Best Balance

Yep, it’s a no-brainer, yet the fence that a lot of us fall at. Ensuring you maintain your “five-a-day” will go a long way to helping that positive mental attitude, helping brain function and, ultimately keeping you on the road to success.

So, there you have it. Four simple steps to maintaining balance in your life. By trying to include these four rules into your life, you will reduce stress, improve your general health, boost your energy and probably be an altogether nicer person to be around. Isn’t that worth a re-balance?

Don’t forget to check back for my next blog, where we will be looking at some real game-changing, counter-intuitive thoughts that will change your notion of balance.

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Last time we talked about the stress so many of us feel approaching the festive period, aspiring for everything to be so ‘perfect’ whilst often neglecting our own wellbeing, and that of our friends and family, and how its so easy for this wonderful time to feel like a diversion from ‘work’.

Spending time away from the distraction of the phone ringing and emails pinging and instead focusing on planning, prevention, capability improvement and relationship building will lead to a clearer vision and a more fulfilled life, allowing you to enjoy more control and fewer crisis situations. How valuable would spending some time on self-renewal and tasks that inspire and uplift you be, not only to your work life, but your overall wellbeing? By having your intention top of mind, you avoid wasting that precious time on autopilot and build that self-worth by actually achieving something.

For maximum productivity:

Set Boundaries. It’s all about the quality. Quality time off means real time off, not time off cleaning the house from top to bottom, just in case your guests notice that speck of dust, or catching up on the ironing mountain. It’s not about sneaking in work while the kids are playing in the living room (you know who you are.) You might have to be assertive in assigning some “me-time”. Humans aside, setting boundaries can also involve setting some rules with the gadgets in your life, too. Thanks to technology, we are never far from emails and social media…all the things that link us back to work and, if we’re not careful, sneakily suck us back into the work environment. Allow yourself total radio silence on those work emails and focus on the quality of a few hours peace to focus on family and friends. While we’re distracting ourselves with modern technology, we aren’t experiencing that all-important quality time. It’s just time!

Be off balance, on purpose. Some will say it’s about balance; balance in work and non-work, balance in activity-filled time and total down-time. I say it’s about knowing what you really want, and really need, and honoring that. It’s about clearly understanding yourself, your priorities, and your body, mind, and spirit. It’s about deciding to be off balance, on purpose. Be where you are when you are there. And have a plan to recall what you want to do when you emerge from being present with your family/yourself, so you don’t “forget” about work related items.

Downtime (time “off”) is as much about caring for your body as it is your mind. And, if you still need some persuading, think of the favor you are doing your boss (who of course might be YOU) by taking time off. Sound counter-intuitive? Ask yourself, would your boss rather have an employee who is relaxed, refreshed, recharged and (yep…the “P” word) productive, or one that is exhausted, stressed and drained? It really is a no-brainer, isn’t it?

I wish you peace, joy, productivity, and of course lots of turkey. Yes, you can have it all. Just not all at once…