Creating the Work-Life Integration You Need
Recently, I talked about the myth of work-life balance and how the term can throw us for a loop. Now that we’ve considered that there may be a third option where your work and life can co-exist, it’s time to do some digging.
How do you create the life balance you’re looking for?
As I touched on at the end of the last article, it’s important to consider what works for you and what doesn’t. What is your best case scenario for the life you want to have? Map it out. Follow these steps:
Spend 10 minutes writing out what your ideal week looks like and how you want to be spending your time. This isn’t a schedule you need to strictly stick to, necessarily, but identifying what your dream schedule looks like is a first step. From here, you can make small changes to get more of it.
Determine what boundaries you need to put in place or what habits you need to form to make that “best case scenario” easier to uphold. If you need to start leaving work at a certain time to make it to the workout class you like, or waking up 5 minutes earlier to get your journaling in during the morning, figure it out.
Ask. Start asking for what you need to make it possible. If you need to have a conversation with your manager, rip the band-aid. The worst they can say is “No”.
And just to get this part out of the way because I’m sure this is coming up for some of you: there is no need to apologize, and no need to feel like you “should” be doing more of something that you don’t want to do. You’re a strong independent woman who doesn’t need to explain her ideal life to anyone. At least I assume so if you’re reading this.
Would Beyoncé apologize for doing what she wanted to do with her life?!
Didn’t think so. Channel more of the bad babes you know and remember that you can create the life you want.
the wheel of life
I do the “wheel of life” exercise with all of my clients before we start coaching, and throughout our work. This helps them to identify where their life may be out of balance, and where they want to be spending more time. These small changes are where you’ll see the biggest difference. I know because not only has it worked with my clients, but it’s worked for me too.
With that in mind, go forth, ladies, and figure out how you want your life to look!