Ways to restore your teetering work-life balance

The terms work/life balance and balanced-life are commonly used to describe various aspects of life satisfaction.

If you feel that your work life balance is teetering on the edge, it is time to make changes before the problems overwhelm you.

Here are strategies that, taken together, can help to change course without abandoning the destination and help you restore your work life balance.

Identify energy leaks
Use energy inventory to assess the quality of your work life balance.

Call your energy home by noticing where you are gaining or losing energy.

Simply notice without judgment, holding yourself whole, competent, and resourceful to redirect your energy when you choose to do so.

Once you have identified your energy leaks, you will begin to recognise ways to close them and regain work life balance.

Each time you close an energy leak you become more focused, clear, and balanced.

Be patient, be honest, and you will soon develop the momentum to live your life in a more satisfying manner.

Negotiate a change with your current employer
Progressive employers recognise the value of good employees, and many are willing to find ways to help current employees deal with short-term or permanent changes caused by family situations.

The changes can include flex time, job-sharing, telecommuting, or part-time employment.

Your first step is to research your employer’s policies and methods of handling previous requests.

Then go to your boss armed with information and a plan that shows how you will be an even more valuable and productive employee if you can modify your current work situation.

Attitude is everything.
No matter how much you love your job, no matter how big a part of your life it is, ultimately you need to be able to “turn it off” and spend some time not working.

This is hard for a lot of people, because their work is an important part of who they are as people. This can be admirable, especially when you accomplish great things in your work, but an always-on-the-job attitude can be harmful in the long run.