IT is one of the great challenges we all must face: How do we find a proper balance between our work and our personal activities? Finding the right work/life balance is worth the effort, because it will enhance our quality of life, give us the necessary time to reconnect with families, to give back to our home communities, and to return to our work places rested and ready to produce.
Each of us might define this work/life balance in different ways. What we need when we are single is different from when we are married. What we need when we have children is different from when we are just starting out in a job, or preparing to retire.
In short, there is no perfect, one set to fit us all. The best work-life balance is the one that you create for yourself because we all have different priorities and goals that we need to accomplish in our life.
To help you define your own suitable balance between your work and life, it helps to ask yourself three important questions:
1. What do you really want to do with your career and life? When you answer this question, you will have defined your career and life goals, and that will enable you to have a tangible, measurable thing that you can start working toward.
2. Why do you want to achieve these goals? Asking yourself this question allows you to understand that the true reason behind your ambition is to continually grow and progress in your career and to build a better future for your family. These are the most important factors of all, affecting your happiness and success, because they are your true aim and purpose in life.
3. How will you achieve your goals? Once you have defined your goal, it’s time to create a map to use to reach your intended destination, including your professional and personal development. This is how goals are achieved. Goal setting, learning and practicing new skills and behaviors will lead you to answer the ‘‘what’’ and to enjoy the ‘‘why.’’
Work/life balance is important to us because it directly affects our happiness. If we find meaning in our work, and fulfillment in our home lives, we can reduce the chance of burnout and increase the motivation to reach our goals.
People who are unable to control their own balance between work and personal life can lose sight of what is truly important. Once you have lost touch with your personal needs in life, the normal stress that results from job pressure can become intolerable.
Learning how to be happy is one of the most important skills you can learn. Suitable time management and goal setting skills are simply gears to help you adjust your time toward the best work and life balance for you.
Of course, here are no shortcuts to success in our career and life. Both at home and at work, we need to start earlier, work harder and stay a little later to accomplish our goals. Everyone has his own goals and timeline, which is why it is so important to get our own work and life balance strategy.
Yet our goals are achievable. As Eleanor Roosevelt, the former US First Lady, said: “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.”
So let us get the right balance for us in order to achieve our dreams.
Ahmed Adel Albelale
The author can be contacted at: aalbelale@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @ahmedalbelale
People who are unable to control their own balance between work and personal life can lose sight of what is truly important. Once you have lost touch with your personal needs in life, the normal stress that results from job pressure can become intolerable.
Each of us might define this work/life balance in different ways. What we need when we are single is different from when we are married. What we need when we have children is different from when we are just starting out in a job, or preparing to retire.
Work/life balance is important to us because it directly affects our happiness. If we find meaning in our work, and fulfillment in our home lives, we can reduce the chance of burnout and increase the motivation to reach our goals.
