Work Life Balance

Finding balance between work life and your own life is hard.

Us Brits are rushing to the next place we need to get to. You can get wrapped up within the world of work, leaving out the most important things behind for a while. Then comes the burnout so when you get to do the things you enjoy or see the people you want to, you are tired and empty. 

Work is an important part of a lot of people's lives, whether that be for money purposes or to feel a purpose. So to put something before that can bring the feelings of guilt or not being enough. The stigma of not having a job is another can of worms that people don’t want to open. 

When you have to choose between them you will always choose work, everyone does as they get older. Priorities change and you have goals you want to achieve. Either because it is your passion, more demanding or simply just because it is paying the bills.

It is easier to let go of the things you know eventually you can get around to doing whether it is seeing that friend or going on that run. But how long is eventually. Eventually you end up in a hole of working continuously forgetting that you need the fundamentals of being a human which is being around other people too. And do what you love. 

And as much as you need to spend time with others you also need to spend time with yourself. That doesn't mean having an hour to rush home, cook tea, shower, then go to bed. I mean watching something that brings comfort, pampering yourself, going out somewhere or even just having an hour moving your body of some sort.

I know how hard it can be to keep those eyes open and even think about moving your body either in the gym or for mindfulness. It is hard. My tactic is to tell myself it is “something I do” not that “I am going to do it”. There are days where I skip home from work and do everything, take over the world. And some where I feel like I am battling my own mind to move when I get home.

Trying to sustain all three work life, social life and me time is hard. Putting boundaries between the three can help in the long run because when all three work together, each of them grow and are more beneficial because you are better with yourself. Working to excess means burn out.

Burnout is the worst, leaving you not even able to complete your day of work satisfied with what you have done.

As much as we get told how important it is to have a job and "be successful" we want to be successful in looking after ourselves. Then we are not only good for yourself but to others too.

Recognising when too much is too much is a good way to lure yourself into good habits of doing things that benefit whatever that is.

You can have both even if it's hard to see, just remember you are only human at the end of the day not a working robot.