Balancing act
‘Work life’ is about balancing things out. And what I mean by “things” can arbitrarily be divided between work and everything else–your life. It is not easy nor is there a formula for how to balance such “things,” but you will feel when something is not right.
For instance, do you check work email at home on your smart phone while preparing and/or eating dinner? Do you feel a sense of panic when you take a day off and do not check your work email? Do you actually respond to work emails after 10 pm?
Honestly, I am no expert really on anything, but my initial thought is that there is a problem if you cannot stop working. I know this for myself, because I can literally feel my heart beat faster when I imagine all the communications that must be coming my way when I am out of the office for any length of time at all. Oddly–or perhaps predictably enough–research has found that people are substantially less productive and report less job satisfaction when they bring their work home.
I know some people work from home, including me with some projects, but generally speaking there is a reason we go into an office to work and then leave. We are physically and mentally keeping that environment separate from our home lives. It is important we do so, which to some extent may be why I took a hiatus from this blog. I took on too much and had to find a balance. In thinking on things, however, I realize that anything that has to do with the written word enhances my life. Perhaps I have found my balance.
In 2015, you can expect to regular posts on all manner of subjects, all of which will relate to the concept of work life and how to better integrate the two concepts. Ultimately, my guiding thought is that “life” is bigger than work. It is in fact all there is–and so my hope is to provide an ever evolving perspective on life and work, which pretty much covers human existence.
My objective is to get you to think. About what? That is indeed the question…