Do you ever feel off kilter, but you can’t figure out why? When that happens, what you may be experiencing is a “balance” issue. Now, I’m not referring to your ability to stand on one leg like a flamingo. Rather, I’m referring to your having a lack of balance in life. Because the key to being content in life is to make every day balanced.
What does that mean? Well, to have a balanced life, every day should have variety. Your day should involve lots of different activities, including work, housework, exercise, quiet time, reading and hobbies.
Now some people misguidedly think that the key to success is to have an unbalanced lifestyle. They think that if you focus solely on one thing, then you’ll be highly successful. For example, if you focus solely on your job, then you’ll achieve great things in your career. That may be true. Admittedly, you may achieve some level of professional success by being singularly focused. But you’ll be successful in only one thing. However, you won’t be overall a content and relaxed person.
Realize that having some variety in each day feels good to our brains. Life is far more intellectually interesting if we do a couple of different things every day. Moreover, when our days have variety, we feel more energized and creative.
If you are seeking to have a lifestyle that is more balanced, consider adopting the strategies below. Follow these approaches, and see how a balanced lifestyle can truly change your life for the better.
Ensure that You Have Personal Time Each Day
One way that our lives become unbalanced is when we devote too much time to our careers at the expense of our personal time. Now, I will acknowledge that if you want to move your career along, you need to do more than just your job. If you do the bare minimum at work, you’ll stagnate professionally. To keep your career on a forward trajectory, you have to do somewhat more than what your job requires.
But! You can’t devote all your time to your career. That doesn’t create a balanced lifestyle. Instead, you need to make sure that you allot some time each day to non-work activities, like exercise, self-care, and personal interests.
Realize that your brain functions optimally when it is does a variety of tasks. If you do nothing but work, you won’t be as sharp. So, designating parts of your day for personal pursuits is important!
Now, it isn’t just enough to have personal time each day. You also have to optimize your personal time. For example, when you have a break at work, don’t just surf the Internet or chat with co-workers. Instead, pick a personal goal, and take 10 minutes to work on that goal. You also might set aside time each evening for self-improvement. Decide to give up television watching, and use those precious evening hours to learn a language, practice meditation or exercise!
The key is to intentionally set aside periods of time throughout day to engage in non-work activities that benefit you. When you do so, your life will become more balanced because your personal pursuits will become as important as your job. And they should be!
Incorporate Movement and Breaks Throughout the Day
Society has a very antiquated view about breaks. The common wisdom is that if you work at a job, you should take two 15-minute breaks, and a 30-minute lunch break each day. Frankly, that is a recipe for being exhausted, unproductive and irritated.
To have balance during your day, you should be taking regular breaks throughout the day. If you work at a desk, every so often, you should be standing up to stretch, get a cup of coffee or go to the bathroom. The point is to regularly move.
Other ways to take a break are to simply stop whatever you’re doing and do something completely different. For example, you might have a book on hand to read for 5 minutes every so often. Or, you can close your eyes and listen to peaceful music for 5 to 10 minutes.
But realize that these regular breaks won’t happen unless you make them a priority. For instance, I’m blessed to be able to work from home. Now, you would think that it would be easy for me to incorporate breaks in my day. But it isn’t! If I’m not careful, I will stare at my computer screen for hours and not know where the time went. So, I have to intentionally force myself to take periodic breaks.
What I find is that if I take those regular, short breaks, I’m able to think more clearly. And I feel better about life generally. I don’t feel like my days are drudgery. Rather, I feel like I’m having time each day to do things just for me.
So, intentionally take regular breaks throughout the day. Your breaks don’t have to be long. Taking a break for 5 to 10 minutes every so often will be refreshing and will make your life feel far more balanced.
Unplug for Designated Times During the Day
One of the best ways to achieve balance in our technology saturated world is to disconnect from screens for parts of each day. You don’t want to spend your day going from one screen to another until your head finally hits the pillow at night.
To have a balanced day, certain parts of your day should be technology-free. Now, I’ll concede that technology is an important way that we connect with the outside world. So, it’s useful. But we also need to connect with ourselves. And to do that, we need to unplug from technology.
For instance, each day I will set aside technology and take time to read a book – a paper book! For me, there is nothing more relaxing than sitting with a cup of tea and having a good book in my lap. I’ll also set aside technology just to take a stroll or putter around the yard. I find that time in nature without the distraction of technology restores the soul.
Of course, I understand that technology is addictive. You easily can go from morning to night working at the computer, listening to podcasts and texting. But the constant use of technology makes for a very unbalanced lifestyle.
So, work to have a balanced relationship with technology. Take time away from your screens for certain periods during your day. If you do so, you’ll feel so much better!
Use Your To Do List to Create Balance
So often, when we create To Do Lists, those lists are for work tasks and chores. But a To Do List also is a terrific tool that you can use to create a more balanced lifestyle.
For example, my daily To Do List isn’t just focused on work and household tasks. It also includes exercise goals, reading time and language learning. By creating a list that incorporates both work/household tasks and personal pursuits, I ensure that my day is varied.
Now, sometimes I write my daily goals down. But at other times, I simply will have a running To Do List going through my head. For instance, I have a goal to get in at least 30 minutes of exercise each day. Now, I typically won’t do those 30 minutes all at once, but instead, I’ll exercise in 10-minute chunks throughout the day. And as I go through my mental To Do List, I’ll tick off each time I’ve made progress toward my exercise goal.
The key is to have a list – written or mental – of things that you want to accomplish each day for both your work and personal goals. What you’ll find is that if you have that list, the day doesn’t get away from you. Rather, at the end of the day, you’ll have done a variety of things. And that’s the key to having a balanced life!
If you want to have a more balanced lifestyle, consider integrating some of the above strategies into your routine. If you do so, you’ll feel much more balanced and content. (To read about great habits to boost your physical and mental health, click here.)
To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.Ecclesiastes 3:1 The hardest part Read more
There are times in life when our circumstances can prevent us from being relaxed and happy. Dramatic changes like a Read more
When we are young, we seek many things in life. Adventure. Professional success. Romance. But as we get older, and Read more
There is always the potential for stress in our lives. Sometimes that stress is created by others. Sometimes we create Read more
The holidays can be difficult for many adults. That is because we have an idealized view of what Christmas and Read more
Achieving inner peace is challenging. It's not something that comes naturally to us. The human mind searches for things that Read more
Recently a friend of mine turned 50. When I asked him what he wanted for his birthday, he said, “Peace.” Read more
“It ain’t over till it’s over” – Yogi Berra Yogi Berra made the above comment during the 1973 National League Read more
