I recently encountered a new game that came from a circus skills event that involved balancing on a plank on top of a length of pipe.
If you didn't concentrate, you fell off.
It was really difficult at first but with practice it became easier.
Even after some practice though it could be quite precarious; one minute you were almost static, the next seesawing wildly resulting in a fall from grace.
Our lives can be like that.
It take concentration and effort to be balanced.
When we lose either of those, we tend to over compensate and swing wildly before falling off and having to start again.
You need to find a sustainable balance point.
Identification The first step has to be identifying where the current imbalance lies.
The phrase 'work-life balance' is in common parlance now but actually, is it just between work and everything else that we need to strike a balance? I suspect for most of us it is more complex than that.
There is work, family, leisure, community involvement, voluntary work and more.
Juggling them all requires concentration and effort.
If you feel that things are out of kilter the first step would actually be the simple work or life question.
It is possible that you want to work more.
Unlikely I know, but I am aware of a number of people who are self-employed who have realised that they are spending too much time enjoying life.
Alternatively, if you are part-time, you might realise that in the current economic climate you need to work more hours.
For most people though, the scales have swung towards too much work - they haven't got enough of a life.
This is relatively easy to spot, particularly if you have a family who don't recognise you any more.
Rectification As you will know if you have tried already, rectifying the problem is no mean feat and the following paragraphs are not a quick fix but merely intended to give you some reminders and pointers.
There are two separate cases outlined below; work taking over or your non-work life not being as balanced as you would like.
Work is Taking Over First of all you need to look at the things you must do.
Once you have identified what you must do, ask yourself, "Really?" This clarification question could also involve referring back to your contract - what are you actually being paid to accomplish? If it's not in your contract, what motivates you to do it? * Everyone else does so you will look different if you don't * You won't accomplish all your work if you don't work extra hours * You enjoy work so want to do more.
If you are bothered about being different it suggests that the desire for balance is not yet great enough to force you to change.
Being constrained by the actions of others leads to a lack of control and independence - you need to wrest back control of your own life quickly.
Choosing to work too much is one thing but feeling forced to is much worse.
If you can't complete your work in your contracted hours is it that 1.
You have more work to do than anyone could accomplish - either someone needs to take on some of your load or you need to decide what is non-essential that won't ever get completed? 2.
You are out of your depth and struggling to fulfil your role - maybe its time to move jobs? Whilst this is a difficult decision to make, once it is done it can have a huge impact on your life.
3.
You need to work more efficiently and use your time better? Most dangerous is when you enjoy your work and can't leave.
I would be tempted to simply say 'Get a life!' but yet I know that this category is often where I would place myself.
I regularly exhort young people to find a career that they enjoy but we also need to set ourselves limits.
If we start to see our extra work as one of our leisure pursuits then it takes us into the realms of non-work balance.
Non-work out of balance If it is our life outside of our employment that is a bit squint then we need to take a long hard look at our priorities.
What is important to us, what are the values that we hold to in life? Once we have identified those, it is possible to measure our activities against them - is there a match or a discrepancy.
If all the activities we spend time on match our values and hearts desires then it suggests that we need to be more efficient in our use of time or we need to stop doing something.
However much we want to do, we will only ever have a finite amount of time and if we can't squeeze it all in then something has to give.
Stop doing If you think you need to stop something then I would refer you to my article 'Stop Doing Good Things' in which I talk about an Eisenhower matrix to categorise tasks in terms of their urgency and importance as well as Jim Collins 3 Questions, the foundation of his Stop Doing List.
Time Management If you decide however that you are not going to reduce what you do, merely do it more efficiently, then you probably need a time management tool.
There are a number of things on the market to improve your use of time, of which I would recommend persolog's Time Management Profile.
This self-assessment tool allows you to identify how you use your time, broken down into 12 areas, and gives suggestions how to improve your weaker areas.
Desire to change All of this will only work if there is a serious desire to change.
Making changes will involve a certain amount of pain and unless there is desire for something better at the end of the process then you are unlikely to be successful.
Take time to stop and think about the prize, the positive results of getting the balance right.
Maybe even draw a picture of what you want to future to look like in order to keep you motivated.
Accountability As well as desire, the other thing you will probably require is some form of accountability.
Having someone like a family member, friend or life coach helping you to stick at the task and achieve your time goals is often the vital link in the chain of success.
Talk to them about what you want to achieve, which will clarify in your own mind what you are going to do.
Then ask them to check if you have finished it by your completion date.
Conclusion Take time to identify where the imbalances lie, make a definite decision to follow your desires and stop doing things that are not needed and become more efficient in doing the things that you must.
Do it now!
If you didn't concentrate, you fell off.
It was really difficult at first but with practice it became easier.
Even after some practice though it could be quite precarious; one minute you were almost static, the next seesawing wildly resulting in a fall from grace.
Our lives can be like that.
It take concentration and effort to be balanced.
When we lose either of those, we tend to over compensate and swing wildly before falling off and having to start again.
You need to find a sustainable balance point.
Identification The first step has to be identifying where the current imbalance lies.
The phrase 'work-life balance' is in common parlance now but actually, is it just between work and everything else that we need to strike a balance? I suspect for most of us it is more complex than that.
There is work, family, leisure, community involvement, voluntary work and more.
Juggling them all requires concentration and effort.
If you feel that things are out of kilter the first step would actually be the simple work or life question.
It is possible that you want to work more.
Unlikely I know, but I am aware of a number of people who are self-employed who have realised that they are spending too much time enjoying life.
Alternatively, if you are part-time, you might realise that in the current economic climate you need to work more hours.
For most people though, the scales have swung towards too much work - they haven't got enough of a life.
This is relatively easy to spot, particularly if you have a family who don't recognise you any more.
Rectification As you will know if you have tried already, rectifying the problem is no mean feat and the following paragraphs are not a quick fix but merely intended to give you some reminders and pointers.
There are two separate cases outlined below; work taking over or your non-work life not being as balanced as you would like.
Work is Taking Over First of all you need to look at the things you must do.
Once you have identified what you must do, ask yourself, "Really?" This clarification question could also involve referring back to your contract - what are you actually being paid to accomplish? If it's not in your contract, what motivates you to do it? * Everyone else does so you will look different if you don't * You won't accomplish all your work if you don't work extra hours * You enjoy work so want to do more.
If you are bothered about being different it suggests that the desire for balance is not yet great enough to force you to change.
Being constrained by the actions of others leads to a lack of control and independence - you need to wrest back control of your own life quickly.
Choosing to work too much is one thing but feeling forced to is much worse.
If you can't complete your work in your contracted hours is it that 1.
You have more work to do than anyone could accomplish - either someone needs to take on some of your load or you need to decide what is non-essential that won't ever get completed? 2.
You are out of your depth and struggling to fulfil your role - maybe its time to move jobs? Whilst this is a difficult decision to make, once it is done it can have a huge impact on your life.
3.
You need to work more efficiently and use your time better? Most dangerous is when you enjoy your work and can't leave.
I would be tempted to simply say 'Get a life!' but yet I know that this category is often where I would place myself.
I regularly exhort young people to find a career that they enjoy but we also need to set ourselves limits.
If we start to see our extra work as one of our leisure pursuits then it takes us into the realms of non-work balance.
Non-work out of balance If it is our life outside of our employment that is a bit squint then we need to take a long hard look at our priorities.
What is important to us, what are the values that we hold to in life? Once we have identified those, it is possible to measure our activities against them - is there a match or a discrepancy.
If all the activities we spend time on match our values and hearts desires then it suggests that we need to be more efficient in our use of time or we need to stop doing something.
However much we want to do, we will only ever have a finite amount of time and if we can't squeeze it all in then something has to give.
Stop doing If you think you need to stop something then I would refer you to my article 'Stop Doing Good Things' in which I talk about an Eisenhower matrix to categorise tasks in terms of their urgency and importance as well as Jim Collins 3 Questions, the foundation of his Stop Doing List.
Time Management If you decide however that you are not going to reduce what you do, merely do it more efficiently, then you probably need a time management tool.
There are a number of things on the market to improve your use of time, of which I would recommend persolog's Time Management Profile.
This self-assessment tool allows you to identify how you use your time, broken down into 12 areas, and gives suggestions how to improve your weaker areas.
Desire to change All of this will only work if there is a serious desire to change.
Making changes will involve a certain amount of pain and unless there is desire for something better at the end of the process then you are unlikely to be successful.
Take time to stop and think about the prize, the positive results of getting the balance right.
Maybe even draw a picture of what you want to future to look like in order to keep you motivated.
Accountability As well as desire, the other thing you will probably require is some form of accountability.
Having someone like a family member, friend or life coach helping you to stick at the task and achieve your time goals is often the vital link in the chain of success.
Talk to them about what you want to achieve, which will clarify in your own mind what you are going to do.
Then ask them to check if you have finished it by your completion date.
Conclusion Take time to identify where the imbalances lie, make a definite decision to follow your desires and stop doing things that are not needed and become more efficient in doing the things that you must.
Do it now!