How will you create a work/life balance for yourself this year?
What New Year’s resolutions did you make to work LESS and play more?
Here’s the thing I want you to remember about work – it should be something you do that easily pays your bills, it may help you have more impact and there’s an added bonus if you LOVE what you do. But work is not ALL you do.
You’re not here to work ALL the time.
You’re not going to look back on your life and EVER think, I wish I worked more. But you can always look back at any time in your life and wish you played more. That’s where this work/life balance comes in.
Most high performers have a toxic relationship with their work that goes beyond time management skills, daily habits and setting healthy boundaries.
As a Spiritual Medium and Energy Strategist, I have spent decades helping my clients create their life/work balance while still moving up the corporate ladder and adding more zeros to their income. One of my clients took a high level position and continues to get raises and promotions without even trying. How did I help her? We did the inner work by addressing why she didn’t feel worthy or enough and how that showed up at work. We also created work/life balance and it was the combination that got her to where she’s at today.
Here are my top 3 hacks to create work/life balance for you:
1. Create a Work Schedule and STICK to it
I know your plate is overfull and if you keep overworking, they’ll keep giving you more work to do. Why? Because you get it done, even if you complain about it. It’s a vicious cycle.
How many hours are you paid to work?
There’s almost always a GAP in what you’re supposed to work and how many hours you actually work. Work the number of hours you’re supposed to and then STOP working.
Also note that thinking about work is WORKING – don’t think about work outside of work hours. I had a client recently who was thinking about work while she was getting ready for work in the morning – what she had to do, solving problems, etc.
Don’t. This is your time to set your intentions for the day, to balance and align your energy so you’re working your best. If you work during your time to get ready for the day, you start your day running and it’s hard to stop that energy. Only work during your work hours. If you get an idea, jot it down to deal with during work hours.
Work only during your work hours. I’m not going to lie, it’s going to FEEL awkward at first. You overwork to prove something to someone from a long time ago. But once you stop overworking, you’ll resent it when you do and you’ll stop. That’s where you want to be.
2. Make Self-Care a Priority
You have to recharge your body just like you do your cell phone. You’re not a machine. When you make self care a priority you:
- Feel better
- Get sick less often
- Have less injuries
- Are more present
- Have more energy
- Are more productive
- Are overall happier.
I had a very high performing client recently start making her self-care a priority. She physically had to after some medical issues arose that made her working come to a halt. She started to hold a firm boundary to her work hours and she even included a lunch with friends in her self care DURING the work week. She looked amazing on our last call. Amazing. She beamed with joy when I told her.
When you take care of yourself, it shows. You radiate a different energy – one that’s night and day different from trying to just get through the day.
Self-care to recharge only includes activities that give you energy back. Hair and nails do not count if you’re on your phone, working and not actively recharging. This is what you do to for appearance, not recharging.
Think about adding activities into your day like:
- Getting enough sleep at night
- Exercising
- Taking 30 minutes to actually eat your lunch and reflect on your schedule the rest of the day
- Eating regular meals with good food for your body so you don’t snack on junk
- Getting a massage and facial once a month (I do this, it’s very possible)
- Taking 5 minutes after something stressful happens to be
What self-care will you add to your schedule to recharge? What daily habits can you create with your sleeping and eating? Let me know what you’re going to add to your self-care in the comments below.
3. Schedule JOY into Your Calendar
This is always a hard one when I first talk with a high -performer – what do you do that brings you JOY? Not others, YOU. I usually get a blank look and if I ask this in a group call, everyone is giving me a blank look back.
Why is this such a hard question? Because you’re a doer. You do for others often to the point of exhaustion for you. This means that you make plans with friends and you cancel because you’re too tired. Typically you don’t have enough energy to do things that bring you JOY. You may not even have the energy to think about it. Or it’s so foreign because you’re a people pleaser and you’re used to pleasing others.
This has to stop. Think about things you’ve done that you enjoyed, that were fun. Is it dancing, gathering with friends, scheduling a special trip, a spa day? What is it for you? Now put it on your calendar.
Taking this to the next level for my high performers looks like NOT scheduling one whole day on the weekend. This means no laundry, no errands, no activity of any kind is planned. You wake up that day, check in with yourself and decide what you WANT to do that day. What will bring you joy today and you do it.
I’ll never forget when I introduced this to my clients at a live event. They were so mad – which is intriguing because the intent is to make their lives easier and more fulfilling – which is what this one unscheduled day does. Then I introduced this at another live event I was working at the following month- they were just as mad. Why? We’re so used to being scheduled and doing what we have to do – not what we want to do.
It’s time to make JOY an intentional part of your life again. It seems awkward, but you’ll thank me for it later. All my clients have, even the ones that got really mad at the live events. Joy is what’s missing and is an integral element to the work/life balance. It also brings you into the present moment.
Remember, work/life balance is very possible. I like to call myself a balanced high performer and my clients are well on their way to becoming balanced high performers. Make yourself a priority by having a SET work schedule, making self-care a priority and schedule joy onto your calendar at least once a week. Love you life every single day – it’s also very possible.