Balance?

For talented, driven professionals who strive to be at the top of their game, work/life balance is somewhat of a misleading term. It gives the impression that the ideal is some sort of constant equilibrium: eight hours at work, eight hours at home, eight hours asleep. Some people do strive for that, and it’s a worthy goal if that’s what you’re after...but that is for a different post. The reality for most people is that “balance” narrowly construed is an unattainable ideal if you want to reach the top echelons of your field.

Often what gets in the way of having a full life outside of work isn’t just the number of hours we spend at work: it’s about making sure that the hours we spend outside of work count. For that, it is crucial that you aren’t spending precious free time worrying about work outside of the office. But how?

The first step is identifying what thoughts keep bringing you mentally back to the office even when you are spending time with family and friends. Some common sources of worry include:

• Second-guessing your work due to lack of self-confidence.

• Conflict with colleagues.

• Imposter syndrome and the accompanying constant (irrational) worry that someone at work will discover you have arrived where you are by luck or accident.

• A feeling of stagnating in your role that has you dreading the next day of work.

In other words, while working too many hours may be part of the problem, there may be other issues whose resolution could allow you to get more out of the free time you have to work with. Identifying the problem—and understanding that the energy drain isn’t just about working too many hours — is a big step towards finding a solution. Addressing the issues will also improve your performance at work — something that can’t be said for a strategy focussed solely on reducing hours in front of the screen.

Why does this matter? Because focusing your time and energy on finding ways to get the most out of your limited free time is likely a more realistic and effective strategy than striving for an unattainable “balance” between work time and free time.

After all, neither you nor your boss uses the number of hours logged as the sole metric for assessing your work (even if you bill your time). Quality counts. It’s time to start applying the same logic to the concept of work/life balance.

Take back control of your free time

Would you like to reduce work-related stress so that you can more fully enjoy your precious free time?