balance

One of the most important things in life is balance. It is also one of the hardest things to attain in today's fast-paced society.

To me, balance means having enough time in the morning (3 hours) for exercise, walking my dog for at least 45 minutes and being able to get ready without rushing around. I would love to be able to get up at 7 AM and be ready to leave by 10 AM to begin my workday soon after. It means working on different types of tasks each day to give me the variety I crave to sustain my interest. I want enough time to take a break in the middle of the day to reset and make sure I get the most of my afternoon. I want to get home with enough time to straighten up, cook a healthy and delicious dinner and enjoy some quality time with my Jay and my doggie. I want to spend time after dinner engaging in a hobby of some sort (currently I blog, read or watch a movie but I am working on expanding my hobby repertoire) and then go to bed at a reasonable hour so I can do it all over again the next day. There is definitely a part of me that feels safe and comforted by routine. I need just the right amount of variety to keep my interest but I also like having a loose schedule to follow on a regular basis.

There is no formula that people can follow to feel that seemingly impossible harmony of work-life-balance - it is different for each person because everyone has different priorities and interests. The trick to is make sure that each day you feel a sense of accomplishment and experience the joys of living. Seems easy but it isn't.

In my attempt to research how I can achieve work-life balance, I found this interesting Web site, www.worklifebalance.com. Their working definition of work-life-balance is: Meaningful daily Achievement and Enjoyment in each of my four life quadrants: Work, Family, Friends and Self.

This concept is relatively simple in theory but not so easy to practice. I know I can quickly get caught up n the stresses in life and that it can completely derail my day if I am not consciously aware of what is happening.

After reading through a few articles on this site, I have come away with the idea that I should set 4 small goals each day for each quadrant in life and do my best to maintain focus on enjoyably accomplishing those goals. And, when I get caught up and feel that my day has gotten away from me, I need to remember to remind myself of all my blessings in life.

Balance comes from within and not from outside sources. I need to make it a priority and live purposefully. There is never a reason to delay enjoyment and happiness more likely lies in many small joyous moments rather than a few momentous occasions. Let's see how long I can keep this up.