Is the Work Life Balance a Farce?

I hear a lot of people saying the work-life balance is a big fat lie.

Is it a farce? Can you, as an entrepreneur, actually have a balance between your work life and your personal life?

The power of choice

We have choices, especially as solopreneurs, decisions to make that are totally up to us. One of the benefits of being an entrepreneur is not working the typical “9 to 5,” but actually cultivating our own reality. Making choices that affect how we construct our day, our life really. With choice, there are many opportunities to acquire balance. One of the keys is navigating between the “get to” and “got to” things on the list.   

There is this general conception that in order to be successful, you have to hustle. In order to hustle, you have to put in the time and grind it out. Often that can look like an 80 hour week. It usually consists of multitasking, partially listening most of the time, and nearly being burned out at the end of the month.

That kind of pattern can easily become a lifestyle.

Perhaps, we may even receive a health warning; red flags like migraines, fatigue, or a cold. These are usually indicators that something is out of balance.

Looking at all that, I can totally relate to people seeing the work-life balance as a bunch of baloney! However, let’s unwind things a little bit.

What do we need to say yes to?

How often do you say yes to things that your gut is really shaking its head no to? When you have that nagging inside voice saying, “Remember last time you committed to that volunteer position, you wanted to kick yourself. Say no…be strong?” But, out of obligation (or because you think “you should”), you say yes.

Or, you attend every business networking event because you’ve heard in order to be a real mover in the field, you need to “show up.” That’s really not the case. I think you know, as with anything in life, there are some key events that would be advantageous to attend. Are all of them necessary? Probably not.

What can we say no to?

Business icon, Marie Forleo is known for her popular saying, “Get on the NO Train!” Saying “No” for many of us, especially my people-pleasing cronies, can be very challenging. It’s a good idea to politely take a day to think your decision over, before committing. This “day buffer” allows you to double-check if a “Yes” aligns with your core goals before agreeing.

We also have some personal things we can look at. Those couple of hours of television each night may or may not be necessary for you. Reducing social media time can also dramatically improve one’s energy and balance. It’s amazing how “just checking in” online can turn into a major time and energy suck.

Honesty = Space

So, I think if we’re really honest with ourselves, we have some space that we can open up. What we find when we make that space is an opportunity to get crystal clear on what is important for us, and where our time needs to be focused.

Individual energy audits, both in our business world and in our personal life can help us determine what is crucial and what is unnecessary. Looking at our day with “fresh eyes” can bring to light where we get our most juice from. It can also highlight where the maximum results stem from – physically, mentally, spiritually, and financially.

Once we do this, we may just find the time to get to that yoga class or actually have a nervous system that can sit for meditation for over 2 minutes! 

Start to recognize patterns that may not be working. Step-by-step, you can create new ways to approach your life, so that you are able to get closer to balance. Closer to working productively AND playing joyfully.

I’d love to hear your thoughts! Let me know in the comments below.

Until next time…breathe joy,
Kc