Achieving work-life balance is important to being happy and feeling fulfilled in life; unfortunately, many people don’t really know how to make that possible. It can be hard to juggle workplace responsibilities, family responsibilities, extracurricular activities and rest and relaxation time. What follows is an exercise that will help you identify areas you need to work on and challenges you must face in order to achieve a balance that will make you happy and well.
Step 1: Where do you spend your time?
Sit down and list the five biggest areas or aspects of your life where you spend the most time. Think about things like work, exercise, projects, sleep, family, etc.
Step 2: A little math
Now that you’ve listed the biggest chunks of time in your life, determine what percentage of your energy is going where. Do the math: total hours you spend doing each of the five activities divided by the total hours in the day.
Step 3: Assess your stress level
Next, think about each area of your life, and rate your stress level for each on a scale of 1-5 (1 being low, 5 being high). Write this down, look at it, and think about it.
What is stressing you out in each area and why? If it’s work, is it because you lack the skills you need to perform your job? Is there someone personally affecting you? Are you worrying about things that are out of your control?
Step 4: What is your level of control?
The aspects in your life that are increasing your stress level may vary depending on your personal situation. Next, I want you to rate your level of control for each stressor. Is it?
C – Something you can’t control
B – Something that you can control certain aspects of
A – Something that you can control
Step 5: Make personal adjustments
Now that you’ve identified your stressors, it’s time to make personal adjustments.
If your stressor is a C: You have to learn to stop worrying about it.
If your stressor is a B: Identify the things that you can control. For example, if there is a certain person in your life stressing you out, you cannot control that person but you can control how you choose to react or respond to that person.
If your stressor is an A: Make adjustments and move on.
Ask yourself seriously, are you being intuitive and balancing your level of control? Don’t label something a C when it’s really a B or an A. You have to be truly honest with yourself if you want to improve the balance and stress level in your life.
Have questions or need a little more guidance? Check out my blog or give me a call. My passion is helping people achieve balance, wellness and fulfillment in both their personal and professional lives. I’d love to hear how this exercise helped you so please leave a comment or send me a tweet @ExecConsultant.
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About the Author
Sheena Lyle is a motivator and problem-solver that has successfully, since 2005, led her organization through rapid change to maximize productivity and quality services with limited funds. A dynamic speaker with the ability to both incite energy and practical applications, she is a sharp, innovative leader dedicated to helping others “enjoy who they are” and “what they do” through consulting and training. Sheena has a drive to enhance productivity by empowering individuals, teams, and organizations, to capitalize on their strengths for greater outcomes. Find more about Sheena from her website: thexecutiveconsultant.com.
