Work/Life Balance - Is There Really Such a Thing?

Everyone talks about "Work/Life Balance" - but the question is - "is there really such a thing?".

In today's world everyone is so busy it's hard to find enough time for your family and all of their activities, much less yourself.

Then we throw in the reality of today's world - where everyone is connected all of the time and we never get any "down time".  Facebook, Twitter, email, messaging ....and the rest of the internet keeps interrupting us 24/7.

Be honest - our cell phones are never out of our hand. We constantly check it. It keeps interrupting our life. And we allow it!  We would be lost without it!

Or would we?

What did people ever do before cell phones and the internet?

They talked to each other in person. They shared their life with people they actually knew - not strangers they meet online. Strangers, or acquaintances they call "friends".

Social media is everywhere. We are inundated with it. It might have it's place - but so does out family and our friends.

Throw in our jobs - which in many cases - due to cell phones - keeps us "working" 24/7. We are never far out of the reach of our jobs and our bosses. We constantly answer work related questions even after we come home. There is never any "down" time. Our "family time" is constantly being interrupted by outside forces.

It might be the "reality" of today - but it affects us in many ways. And most people really aren't aware of it.

Paying attention to people when they are speaking to you. Being "present" when they are speaking to you - doesn't happen very often anymore - because someone is messaging us and we are reading the messages - or we are reading our emails on our cell phone.

It might be the "norm" - but it shows a lack of respect for the other person.

It might be "important" that you answer your emails from work 24/7 - or so you think. It might just "make you feel important". Are you getting paid extra for working 24/7? Is it really going to make or break your job/career?

It has been shown that people need a break. They need down time from their jobs. They need to take "real" vacations - without the disruption of their jobs. They need to refresh, regroup, recharge!

It's hard!  But if we don't allow ourselves to get recharged - if we don't allow ourselves to be "present" for our family and friends - we won't really be our best. We will miss a lot of the special moments in our family's life - because we aren't focusing on the moment because our minds are elsewhere.

Take a step back - be realistic on how your work, your family and your life interact with each other.

Make time for yourself. Make time for your family and friends. Make time for your job. 

Organize your life - organize your priorities. Yes - family and friends can and should be scheduled activities - just like you schedule your meetings at work. They are just as important.

Your health depends on having balance in your life.

Figure out what's working and what's not. You don't have to be in every single activity and on every single board. You might want to - but you don't have to.

Work/Life Balance is not always balanced. But you can adjust it - and you should - every so often.





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