Is Work and Home Life Balance Possible?
I know that work and home life balance has really been a hot topic, especially in the last few years with so many more people working from home with COVID. I have really been trying to evaluate my work-life balance between the two, but as a co-owner of the business, I notice that it runs together so very much! The more and more I think about it, for me, I don’t think they will ever exist as parallel lives, but more joint. I am becoming the believer that everyone’s balance looks different and that is ok!
There are so many things to think about and evaluate when you look at your work and home life balance. Here are just some ideas to get you started and what helps me in knowing when I need to slow down with something.
How is my mental health right now?
The biggest one for me and I think it has to do with my suffering from depression and anxiety is how is my mental health right now? Do I notice that I am struggling to sleep at night? Do I happen to get very irritable at things I shouldn’t? After many years, I have learned that my mind and body are usually trying to tell me something, just not always sure what that is! If I am getting irritable, it means that I am anxious about something, which can be at times an irrational fear or thought, but I need to take the time to evaluate the situation to be sure.
How is my physical health right now?
The next thing that I am finding that I have been lacking for two years (really probably 7 years or so!) is my physical well-being. Am I trying to move my body more? I feel more balanced when I am taking the time to take care of myself. Now, as a mother finding that time can always be a balance as well. I am starting to find times that I can do it finally, plus also trying to eat better. I am very stationary during the day with a job like mine, so exercise is more important than ever!
Do I have good boundaries set?
Boundaries, haha! I will be the first to admit that Zach and I both struggle very much with boundaries in work and life. We have been in the car at times with our kids and our oldest asked us, “why do you ALWAYS talk about work?” I find when you own the business, especially with your spouse you have to make sure there is time to talk about work, but also times that you don’t talk about work.
Have you ever heard that multitasking is a myth?
But when you think about it, how many of us are always trying to multitask? As a working mother, who is mostly working from home right now, I am always trying to multitask! I keep telling myself that it means that I will get to rest at some point, but let’s be honest I DON’T! Something that we all need to work on is completing one task at a time, and going through that to-do list that we spend time creating. With the ever-connected world that we live in now, it is so hard to focus on one thing at a time, but I often wonder, what we could all accomplish if we did it for just a day?
I just touched on a few things that are helping me try to get better work and home life balance, but there are so many ways out there. And like I said before, no one person is going to be the same. I even find that in my relationship, Zach’s work-life balance is different than mine and we are always working together to better it for ourselves, our family, and Pixel Labs!