“The best and safest thing is to keep a balance in
your life, acknowledge the great powers around us and in us. If you can do
that, and live that way, you are really a wise man.” - Euripides
It
has been a busy summer at the office and there are no signs of a slowdown
anytime soon. New projects and schedule
pressures, the annual management exercise commonly known as “budget planning,”
and preparation for significant life changes have all been on the front burner
of late. Sometimes it seems as if
everything in life is on the front burner.
What happened to the back burners?
Where did they go?
A
few days ago I was having a conversation with a friend and he was relating his
own tale of “life lived without balance.”
Offering him sound advice (I thought) I reminded him that balance is an
elusive standard and to the extent we equate our level of happiness to the time
balance of our lives we are likely to be disappointed. Worse yet is when we feel guilty over the
lack of time balance.
My
theory is this: Balance is achieved when
the moments and events that we value most in life are rich and have deep roots
that touch us emotionally and spiritually.
It is not about equal time. It is
about the quality of our relationships and experiences.
As
a project manager I structure nearly everything I do. I develop schedules, juggle resources and
people, strategize, collaborate, and mitigate risk. I plan the work and work the plan. But never in a single project plan have I
seen a task labeled “be in balance.” In
fact, my experience is the opposite. The
demands of professional life compete with and often trump those of my personal
life. If I am to be happy, healthy, and
balanced I must find a way to tip the scales in my favor.
In
other words, it is up to me. I must take
responsibility for my own balance, happiness and sense of fulfillment. And so must you. Recognizing
that there are times our lives will be weighted primarily in one area allows us
to focus that time more efficiently. Getting through that period as quickly as
possible and then taking time to rebalance our relationships and recharge our
own batteries is important.
Time
imbalance can occur for any number of reasons.
Project deadlines, business travel, health crisis, and personal pursuits
such as after-hours education are all examples of life and work realities. Each brings its own bit of stress. The issue is not avoiding them, because you
rarely can. But you can learn how to
make the most of time that is available to you in ways that maximize its
value. For me that means quiet solitude,
a morning stroll on the beach with a cup of hot coffee for company, or time
spent with my wife when there is nothing particular we have to get done. For you it might be playing Frisbee catch
with the dog, hanging out with friends, or reading that book you’ve been
staring at for months.
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