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How To Bring Balance Back Into Your Work And Life

Do you think work/life balance is hard to achieve these days?

If you answered yes, then you are not alone.

Due to changes in our economy, technology and culture the boundaries of work and life are blurred. Just think of how many times you check your work emails at home, in your car or on your blackberry or iPhone?

And of how many times you check and respond to personal emails, social networking sites, and family responsibilities from work.

Because of the information age and advances in communication technology, we can’t seem to run away from work even if we try.

In a lot of companies, managers now carry Black Berries and PDA phones so they can stay in touch with the office all the time.

On one hand you want to spend time with your family and friends doing what’s important to you, and on the other hand you have the tax season, the new report and the new project pulling you away.

Do you ask yourself:

• Is balance important?
• Can you achieve balance between work and life?
• Can your life run smoother?

All these questions will be answered in this next series of newsletters.

This month we will assesses your current work/life balance to see if there is anything important to you that is missing. And, next month we will give you tools to strike a balance in your life.

Balance is important
Honestly, I don’t exactly know why balance is important (If you have an idea drop me a line: alan@ovson.com), yet we all know that it’s important. We just feel it.

Balance allows us to be in a state of harmony and gives us a sense of inner peace and happiness. We can safely say that we are born wired to achieve balance in our lives in order to be happy and content.

If you look at the best works of art, you will notice one strikingly common theme in their beauty and elegance: balance. We like those pieces of art because the balance in them resonates deep down our being. When you look at the Mona Lisa for example, you just feel it.

Just like a painting comes about with thought and effort, the balance of your life can too come from conscious effort. If Leonardo Da Vinci had simply dumped paint over a canvas without any conscious effort, the Mona Lisa would never have been created.

The same principle applies to your life. You have control to shape your life.
At this point, you may be wondering how you can achieve more balance in your life and reap the benefits that come with it.

The first step to achieving balance and turning your life into a piece of art is to determine which areas of your life are out of balance.

Balance Assessment
The Wheel of Life allows you to determine whether you are focusing too much on one part of your life and therefore, potentially neglecting others.

The wheel is divided into 8 sections. Each section reflects an important area of life. The personal side could be anything you want it to be.

For example a student might put Education as a personal item and another person might put Relationships.

Wheel of Life Example
Here is what the completed wheel of Mr. J might look like. Mr J has indicated his level of satisfaction with each sector of his life with 10 being the most satisfied.

Notice how Mr J’s career and family categories are low. If this is Mr. J’s wheel of life and it is rolling, how smooth do you think his ride? Ouch!!!!!

Exercise 1: Wheel of Life Assessment - Is Your Life In Balance?

Draw the circle on a piece of paper or click here to download and print the diagram.

Rank your level of satisfaction from 0-10 in each area of your life – with 10 representing complete happiness (at the top) and 0 being complete unhappiness (the center of the circle).

How is your wheel? (Click the image to download)

Interpreting the Wheel of Life
This section will help you reflect on your wheel of life and give the prospective and insights for achieving a more balanced life.

• Are there categories that need to be added or subtracted from your wheel? (go ahead and add or delete them)
• Is your wheel balanced?
• Which area(s) need(s) the most attention?
• Which area, if worked on, would elevate all the other areas?
• Do you have any questions?

What’s next?
Next month we will show you how to prioritize each category of your life. You will know how to increase your satisfaction level and balance in all areas of your life.

We’d love to hear your thoughts, email peter@ovson.com. Start today at building and strengthening your structure of influence in your life.