Word-Of-the-Week #713: Balance
April 5, 2018 by Susan Clarke
Balance – proper prioritization between work (career and ambition) and lifestyle (health, pleasure, leisure, family).
How did you do last week with creating boundaries? Were you able to get out of “work mode” when you left? What one thing did you do for yourself that was lifestyle related?
This is the second half of Marla Tabaka’s “Out of office (really) How to leave work behind at the end of the day”.
And to recap, “An inability to disengage from work has its consequences, including high stress levels, lowered productivity and damaged relationships. It also puts you in danger of being seen as a very dull person.
- Plan your next steps
Planning your next activity, whether it’s cooking dinner or going to a movie, creates a distraction for your brain. I’ll admit that sometimes I don’t want to think about doing anything because I’m exhausted. On those evenings, I imagine myself relaxing with a good book (which may include a glass of wine), and that does it for me.
Having something to look forward to helps us resist the temptation to keep working.
- Perform an anchoring activity
A simple, neuro-linguistic programming trick is to associate an internal response with some external trigger. Using that same trigger at a later point will prompt your body and brain to recall the same feeling or mood.
When it comes to leaving work behind, it may be closing your office door, calling home or even something that feels silly, like tapping on your desk three times or squeezing the trigger points on the side of your knee.
Sending such a signal to your brain programs it to trigger a feeling or action that can make it easier for you to stop thinking about work.
- Add to your to-do list
Scratching things off your list is a positive action and promotes a sense of achievement; adding to your list helps to organize thoughts and reduces concerns about forgetting something important.
When I jot down the things I didn’t get to by the end of the day, it eliminates the nagging feeling that I’ll forget something important.
View your work and personal life with equal importance, rather than placing an exaggerated importance on your work.
You know you’re less productive when you’re tired and stressed out, so why not close the door on your problems guilt-free and get some rest?
If you’re a non-believer, give it a try for a few weeks and notice the positive, all-around impact that a little balance brings to your world.
This week’s focus is on balance. What are the things that you most look forward to doing? Are you like me and LOVE having a to-do list? How many times a week do you plan personal activities?
If you want more ideas on how to create work boundaries I found this on the Inc. website.
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