Obtaining Work/Life Balance in the Middle of a Pandemic

I was graciously asked to write a few words for this blog, and I was quite honored to say the least. Work/Life Balance, how do YOU do it? First, I have to say, it is not easy, and some days I slay my days, and other days, the squirrel in my head is in complete control. Having said that, here’s how I think I do it best, when I’m slaying my day or week.

The new normal is anything but normal, so we have to look at what are the priorities for us for the day/week/month, right? I typically separate my priorities into two buckets: Work World and Personal World. By nature, I am a Type A Overachiever, so this is a challenge for me any day, but what tasks must be accomplished today or this week? What are the priorities of the people who the tasks need to get accomplished for, i.e. Boss, Partner, Child, Family? Now, can you prioritize them? What has to get done 1st, 2nd, 3rd? See how we need to have a Work Bucket and Personal Bucket??

If this time has taught me anything, it is what is really important, and work is definitely important, but so is the balance. Are you getting enough sleep? Are you drinking your water? Are you taking the time for self-care? Are you moving your body? There is no balance if you don’t do these things. You can’t balance anything for anyone if you aren’t in balance first. For me, it means trying to start my day at 5:30am, work out, eat right, set my intentions for the day, and slay it…..but also being OK with myself if that doesn’t happen.

There is a book by Laura Vanderkam: “168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think.” I’m still balancing everything I can to finish this book, but the premise is, we all have the same 168 hours in the week, what are the big priorities? Take care of the important stuff. If you do some core prioritizing of your schedule you will find the hours you need to get it done. That might mean the laundry is going while you are on a zoom, and that’s OK. It’s also OK to ask for help: with the kids, with their studies, hire a housekeeper, get the groceries delivered…whatever that looks like for you, is your balance.