Spring!!! My two favorite seasons are fall and spring – so I was thrilled to realize spring was so close and we would be soon enjoying the final celebration of Easter (for those who are Christian). There are always a lot of articles written about spring and Easter and how both bring new life and hope after a time of darkness. For those of us in the valley we did have shorter days, but very little cooler weather and lots of warm days once we hit the 70’s on February 6 and it’s never cooled down again according to AccuWeather.com. So, we are moving into spring with hope for longer days and closer to average temperatures here! If I consider this in my approach to my life it would be for days full of more of what I hope and want to do with people I love; and average work/life balance.
Recently I was struck again when I was reading about people interviewing for jobs. The fact that many in Gen X will ask about how employees are able to manage work/life balance is notable. According to Workplacetrends.com employers are trying to respond to this newer demand with more flexible hours and settings. Still, 20% of employees are still reporting that they are working an average of 20 hours a week at home in addition to their regular hours at work. Technology appears to be driving this as employees are no longer working “regular hours” but are expected to be available by phone and/or email even on weekends and evenings. I hear this often when I see people. While it varies, I’ve seen it limit severely a client’s ability to do anything due to excessive demands placed on her to the point she became ill from working 7am to 10pm most days with weekends requiring 4-6 hours of her time answering her boss’s emails. I’ve also heard of individuals who are not required to work at all on off hours, although very few when in a professional position. Most of us may cry for work/life balance, but are now working longer hours and finding our serenity and balance compromised. Gen X and Gen Y both tend to use the flexibility offered through many companies, i.e.: days to work at home, 4 day work weeks, vacation time, etc. better than others. So if you’re not doing that, begin there. Then after using these employment flexibility tools, what to do?
Plan Activities for Yourself: Seems like an old idea, right? Well it’s amazing how many times I hear that people are not planning an activity that they enjoy very often, if at all. If you have a family, be sure as a family that both a fun activity is planned that you all enjoy (movie night) as well as couple time (walk and coffee, dinner, go out dancing). Also create planned time for yourself (take a bath and pamper yourself, take a yoga class alone or with a friend, paint some pottery, take a walk with the dog). Having those activities on your calendar (yes, enter them on your calendar – don’t just keep them in your head) will help you begin to see there are other parts of your life and you’ll maintain awareness.
Make Time for Spirituality: Whether it’s a church service or daily journaling or prayer or walking the labyrinth once a week, find what fits for you. I’m always amazed when I talk with one young woman who is finishing college and taking 15 units including her final project, doing 2 internships which each require a full day’s work, volunteering for a group, maintaining an active social life, completing her job search, and yet she also finds the time to journal and pray each night. At her age (22) she has developed habits that would do all of us quite well regardless of our age. Aristotle said, “We are what we repeatedly do”. So to be balanced, and include a dimension other than work and household chores, we must begin including those activities on a regular basis.
Limit Electronics: This is the toughest for so many people – myself included. It is the electronics that have brought the end of the 8 or even 10 hour work day. And also brought much in the way of ease of reading, access to information, and kept us in closer contact with loved ones. But much is in how we manage them – or they will not manage our lives, but take them over. I found it interesting that when I did a quick search for limiting electronics all that popped up were sources related to children. So, we know we need to or we are looking for ways to limit children at times – a good practice, for sure. I found an excellent article in which the author wrote her goals for limiting her own time, and I loved it because all of the guidelines were also expanding her life! Melissa Monahan wrote on Global Business Hub at Boston.com ideas like planning half-hour periods during which she will not even look at electronics, taking time during her travel weekly to read a book and not look at her email and phone, and phone a friend rather than text three times a week, etc. (see http://www.boston.com/business/blogs/global-business-hub/2013/09/screen_time_rul.html – it’s worth the read!) While you may have work related concerns, it’s important to also take time away – even those of us on 24-hour call for crises take breaks and it’s incredibly important to your health and that of your relationships to do so.
If you do some of the above, you’ll actually find you’re bringing some life balance back. Winter is a time of hibernating and slowing down. Spring is a time for new adventures and growth. As Harriet Ann Jacobs said: “The beautiful spring came; and when Nature resumes her loveliness, the human soul is apt to revive also.” So go outside and soak in the sensory experiences of walks, bike rides, working in the garden, or having a picnic at a park. And go within and with family and broaden your experiences each week. It’s time to bloom!
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