Homebuilders – Is work/life balance an illusion?

What is meant by work/life balance? Doesn’t it just mean how do we juggle everything life throws at us, to the best of our abilities? In simple terms, work/life balance symbolises a harmonious balance between work and home, between earning a wage and being with family and friends. But how do we do that in a fast-paced, chaotic world and in a culture that admires busyness, while also looking after our own physical and mental health?

If we look at the well-used Triple 8 rule, we see the idea that to have a work/life balance we should divide our time into eights: eight hours of work, eight hours of sleep and eight hours for everything else.

If only life were that simple! To me, the Triple 8 rule is in itself off balance. How can we cram “everything else” into the eight spare hours? The Triple 8 rule might work as a loose framework for obtaining work/life balance, but it may be more helpful if we flip our thinking and see that it’s not about work and life competing with each other but work being a part of life. It is actually about integrating work into life.

We all need to earn a wage and help provide for ourselves or/and our family so maybe if we follow some of these points, we might be able to harmonise work and life in some ways.

Prioritise: This is about dealing with the most urgent things first as this will reduce your overall stress and stop procrastination creeping in.

Manage your time and set boundaries: Schedule and allocate time to different tasks. This involves saying no to things that are not your responsibility. Remember, it’s okay to say no.

Disconnect from work: Do not check your emails, do not reply to texts and do not answer work calls outside work hours. Do put an out-of-office message on and reply when you are back on the clock.
Schedule downtime: Within your time management allocate ‘me’ time, and protect it, it is yours and you deserve it. It is okay to do nothing or treat yourself, no matter how small it is, or maybe just have a quiet coffee or a short walk in nature.

Ask for help: Bosses and other staff will continue to ask for more from you if they don’t know you are struggling. Remember, it’s okay to ask for help.

The 2017 World Happiness Report boils its research findings down to say work/life balance is a strong predictor of people’s happiness and that job satisfaction plays a major role in that. So, it’s also important to ask yourself what you are getting from your job and remember a sense of satisfaction is often driven by a sense of purpose. And, if we are spending one-third of our life at work, we need to check in with ourselves, find a sense of purpose, protect our time with family and friends, and integrate work into life, rather than allowing work to become so big that it is our life.