Flight School

Old fashioned design

Work-Life balance? There’s a better way.

Work-life balance. Every week I read an article that contains the magic recipe for achieving this mythical state. Every expert has a tip or trick. Time blocking, delegating, prioritizing. But, they keep writing articles, with new tactics – because none of these things work. When you put work and life on the scales, one is always out of balance. Sometimes work needs more attention. Big sale, year-end, project deadlines. They pull hard. And sometimes, it is family that pulls more attention. Cold and flu season, family vacation, new baby, elderly parent. These things are normal. Trying for balance assumes that we have control over all of the factors. Spoiler alert: we don’t. 
Striving for balance is a stressful tightrope walk of this-or-that. Give a little here, take a little there. And suffer guilt in the process. What makes this worse is the constant barrage of false information that keeps telling us this balance is possible and is something we should strive for. Telling us that letting one area of our life have more focus is bad and not normal. That’s baloney. I’d be more likely to have a pet unicorn than find that my career and home goals have magically balanced. 

Not balance – Harmony

    Imbalance is natural and it is time to accept it. Life is organic, and our lives intersect with people and circumstances we cannot fully control. When we accept that, we can let go of the stress of trying to be perfect.

    Rather than balance scales, I like to think of my work and home life more like music. It isn’t either/or but a composition of different notes and instruments. In harmony, these different elements come together in a beautiful way. The distinct notes, much like the various aspects of our lives, add interest and depth. There are times when the tempo is fast and others when it is unhurried. Sometimes one instrument dominates the piece and the others complement. Other times they blend in concert.

    Sure, there will be some discordant notes. But they won’t last. Merging work and life creates a melody that is rich with meaning, purpose, pleasure, and life. The key is to relax and enjoy the music.

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