Prioritizing and Balancing: 5 Easy Ideas!
This is a busy time of year for me at work, so I am really making an effort to find moments to bask in the blue skies and sunshine of the spring. In general, my goal as a working woman is to always strive for balance. My firm belief is that true and real balance equals happiness and health, which, in my opinion, also means less stress! The golden ticket question is: HOW DO WE GET TO BALANCE???
If you talk to some high level execs, they don't believe in work-life balance. Take Sheryl Sandberg (author of Lean In) for example; she says: "So there is no such thing as work life balance. There is work, and there's life, and there's no balance." I simultaneously agree and disagree with her, respectfully. What do I mean? I do think work-life balance is a mountain/valley cycle. Depending on the workload it can be easier/harder to execute. Which is why I think ultimately it's less about balancing and more about prioritizing....
Easier said then done, right? Life gets in the way - the mail stacks up, the house chores are overwhelming, too many emails, texts, phone calls to make, the grocery shopping, the obligations for this and that.... and the list goes on! Truth is that balance is something you create by prioritizing, not something you just "find" on the side of the road....
Here are 5 easy ways to re-think balance and health in your life:
1. Do one thing at a time with full presence. In this age of technology we multi-task to a point of being the Jack/Jane of all trades and the master of none. Spending time mastering one thing gives a feeling of fulfillment that you can't get from doing multiple things all the time.
2. Nurture relationships with family and friends. Close your eyes and think about the best day you have had in a long time... think about the people that were there and the conversations that you had.... How happy did you feel? Did your face hurt from smiling? Did you think about the office at all? Probably not! The lesson is that even when you are "exhausted" and "too busy" to hang out with friends/family, still do it! It will re-energize and re-invigorate you. 9x's out of 10 these people love and prioritize you!!
3. Leave the past where it belongs, in the past! So often an incident will happen at work and I will dwell on it to a point where I over-think and over-analyze instead of just letting it go. Breathe deep and move on!! There is freedom in it, I promise!
4. Find time to be grateful. I have said this before, but 3 things. That's it. Every day - 3 things. Being grateful equates to being mindful.... even if your mind is full. (goes back to #1, above)
5. BREATHE. Breathing deep relaxes the mind and body. It creates harmony between your two worlds and makes you realize that it's not worth it to get so out of balance/harmony/rhythm!
This outfit is so happy and perfectly represents the sunshine and blue skies that I hope all of you find as adults navigating this complicated, grown-up world we live in. It's short, so we need to maximize every second and not get bogged down in the daily grind.
