I have no doubt that each one of us can match our vocation to our vacation and through asking the right questions followed with actions the result can be a balanced, enjoyable and fulfilled life.
I aim to outline how best to keep a balance in life and to
find purpose in our work when we have that balance.
Beware of your “time wasters” – they might even seem to be noble activities or endeavors, but in the end they really just waste your time and prevent you from doing
the things which matter most. Many people master and then are mastered by activities which are of no worth or value, but which end up taking over their lives and businesses.
QUERIES TO YOURSELF
- How much of your time is actually spent working on high-value, high-benefit activities?
- How much time do you waste every day on things that really do not matter much in the end?
- Eliminate any and all time thieves regardless of how trivial they might seem or how noble you have made them to appear.
Time Management
Are you one of the ever-growing number of people who find themselves waking up every morning feeling exhausted? Disappointed that all your best efforts the night before
- to finish the ironing,
- make that exercise class or
- read through the new training manual for work all fell short?
- Do most days seem like a constant battle with yourself?
- Racing against time to get out of the office and collect the kids from school, pick up the dog from the vet,
- vacuum the stairs, make the dinner and a million and one other things?
Are you fed up with living life in a blur? Don’t worry – you’re not alone! With the ever-increasing pressures we face in all dimensions of our lives – work, family and social – it is becoming harder than ever to get everything done. But,
it is possible to regain a sense of control and balance in our lives if we learn to manage our time more effectively. Follow our step-by-step guide to making time-management work for you so that you can get back on track and feel fulfilled in all areas of your life.
The Art of Planning:
1.Goal Required:
What do you want to achieve?
2.People Required:
Who can help you?
Who do you need:
3.Resources Required:
What can help you?
What do you need to use or know?
4.Strategy:
What are the steps you need to take and in what order?
1. Plan Your Time
The first thing you should do when attempting to create a sense of balance and fulfilment in your life is to sit down
and work out how many areas of your life you feel demand your time and then realistically allocate a percentage of your time to each of these activities. Always remember to allow one of those areas to be
“you” time as everybody needs a little time out in order to stay balanced. So, for example, if you are a working individual with a busy social life you should account for at least
four areas to divide your time between –
- work,
- family,
- social and
- “you” time.
How you allocate your time will entirely depend upon your demands but you should try to work it out as fairly as possible. Don’t forget it is just as important for you to have some time-out and spend time on your personal development goals, (
be it night classes in educational subjects or hobbies), as it is to attend to all your work deadlines.
It is when work time starts overlapping into family time or social time or vice versa that the balance is tipped and you run the risk of feeling out of your depth, stressed and disillusioned once again.
2. Make A List
When you are feeling like things are getting on top of you, sit down and make
a list of all the things that need to be done. Once you have made a list you are then in the position to
objectively decide which things are really urgent and which things actually don’t matter very much at all (
Draw similar Table like TO DO LIST). When we are stressed we tend to think everything is a big deal but sometimes we put added pressure on ourselves to do things
that can actually wait. By writing a list you may even be able to relieve your anxiety by cutting the list in half straight away! You realise more easily that it is actually no big deal that you haven’t hoovered the spare bedroom in a week or that you haven’t had chance to buy your husband a new shirt for work yet because he has plenty of others that will do the job in the meantime!
Once you do start completing points on your list make sure you cross them out – this will give you a sense of how much you have achieved and spur you on to keep going!
3. Reward Yourself
For every little bit of progress you make in crossing another item off your “To Do” list, make sure you reward yourself. Give yourself the encouragement to go on and congratulate yourself for what you’ve achieved. Having a positive approach makes the impossible possible.
4. Write A Diary
Try to get into the habit of writing down your thoughts and feelings when you are feeling a bit stressed or anxious about all the things you have to do. Not only will this prevent you from “bottling up” negative emotions, but it will also help you work out what causes you to feel stressed and how you might alleviate this in the future. Analyse your diary extracts and
ask yourself if there is a pattern regarding when and why you become stressed. If there is, you should think of ways in which you can take control of the situation and prevent yourself getting stressed about it again. For example, if you find that you always seem to be stressed on Wednesdays because you must work late and still have to make an early evening class at Rathmines College!! Or you have to pick up the children from after-school classes and later take them to music lessons, maybe
you should consider seeing if you could finish work earlier or in the case of children needing to be picked up, get somebody else to bring the children to their music lessons? This way, you give yourself the time out to recharge and relax while everything still gets done. It also allows you to get to your class without feeling under mega pressure and exhausted.
5. Lighten The Load
Don’t be afraid to ask for help or accept help when offered. If your colleague offers to work on a project with you or your mother insists on picking the kids up after school one day all the better for everyone!
Task-sharing is often an ideal way of getting everything done – leaving both yourself and the task-sharer feeling satisfied.
Don’t be afraid to ask for – or accept – help either. Any ways in which you can lighten your workload by sharing responsibilities and chores is always worthwhile. It can give you double the time you might normally have and double the energy too –
time and energy which you can channel into other areas of your life by making a serious effort to keep attending your night course or exercise class perhaps?
Break down mammoth tasks into many small parts – and reward yourself once you complete each stage. This way, instead of feeling overwhelmed and daunted you take control of the situation – lightening the load by taking baby steps!
6. Eliminate Distractions
You’ll be amazed how much time you can save by getting rid of unnecessary distractions. If you’re studying or working solo from home, try putting your phone on silent and placing it in another room until you’ve finished in order to prevent you getting distracted by it.
Limit the number of trips you make to the kitchen for a cup of tea! and focus directly on the task in hand – you’ll be surprised at how much quicker you’ll finish!
7. Take A Break
Do Take short but effective breaks though – instead of sitting in front of your computer screen checking your personal emails, go for a 5 minute walk outside – the fresh air and exercise will clear your mind and give you a pick-me-up boost.
8. Set Yourself Realistic Goals
- Specify the Goal
- Recognise the people who can help you achieve that goal
- Research the resources reuired and
- Outline a strategy.
Once you have started to reap the benefits of organising your time effectively you will never want it to stop.
Instead, you will want to know how to stay in control. The best way to do this is to gain a sense of direction by setting yourself goals – both short-term and long-term. Many short-term goals you may have in the present may be working towards a long-term plan. For example, taking time out to go swimming three times a week may give you the confidence to fulfil your lifetime ambition of training to be a swimming instructor. Or perhaps your immediate goal of meeting all your deadlines in the office has made you realise that you could in fact go for that promotion you used to dream about.
Setting yourself realistic goals gives you something to aim for and leaves you feeling more confident, ambitious and satisfied.
Once you have followed this simple approach you will no doubt feel a huge sense of relief – as well as balance – in your life! Not only can you manage your time effectively,
you now have the energy, drive and time to do all the things you always dreamed of – and never dreamed of! Why not take that cookery class you wish you’d done years ago? And what’s stopping you challenging your mind and motivating yourself by going back to the books by choosing a course that you can complete at your convenience with the time-friendly option of e-learning? Or, incorporate your need for exercise with your passion for new things by joining a jazz dancing class perhaps? Celebrate your love of life and being in control of it
Combat Stress
It has become an almost iconic sign of our times – the dreaded stress word, yet it is still an epidemic that nobody seems to know that much about.
The Central Statistics office in Ireland reports that 13,000 people in the Republic of Ireland suffer from stress, depression or anxiety. Pretty much everyone seems to suffer from it, yet nobody knows exactly what causes it, or why, and there is as yet no magic pill we can pop to make it go away! The general consensus, however, is that it is our bodies’ non-specific reaction to the demands put on it. Stress seems to affect everyone in different ways – from tension headaches to spot outbreaks and constant runny noses. So, what can we do about it? The answer is easy – though not always so easy to attain – and it is to slow down. That’s why we’ve put together these top tips to help you acquire a stress-free life in our fast-paced world.
9. Slow Down
Take time out! Stress creeps up on us because we are run ragged doing too many things. All work and no play is no good at all –
everything in moderation is the key to not letting things get on top of you. You should make time for exercise and social outings with friends in the same way that you make time for work pressures and household chores. It is just as important for you to chill out and relax as it is to meet that pressing work deadline –s o be sure to make time for both!
10. Exercise
Exercise is a great stress-buster! Not only does it give you more energy and release “happy” hormones (endorphins) it also helps clear your mind and relieve built-up tension. As if that isn’t enough to get you on the treadmill, taking regular exercise also serves the purpose of giving you time-out from everything else. Just going for a walk in the fresh air on your lunch break can put you in a good mood for the rest of the day. Classes such as yoga are specifically designed to help you relax, helping you to achieve a sense of harmony between mind, body and soul.
Get Your Life in Balance - Conclusion
With the ever-increasing pressures we face in all dimensions of our lives – work, family and social – it is becoming harder than ever to get everything done. But, it is possible to regain a sense of
‘balance’ in our lives if we learn to re-educate ourselves in the practice of a healthy worklife balance ethic. In fact, many employers have introduced initiatives welcoming a worklife balance for their employees. This involves implementing arrangements that can help employees combine their job with other areas of their lives such as family, social and educational. For example, many companies allow employees to work on a flexi-time basis (which can allow working mums to drop the children at school every morning before work, or) enable someone to have leave early on Friday – provided of course that employees work up their hours at other times by working through lunch or working late on days that suit them.
After all, a poor worklife balance interferes with your personal development goals, such as completing that pottery course you always wanted to do, learning to play badminton, or maybe dusting down the books and taking up a course in Literature.
Time is of the essence in creating a sense of balance in your life. The more you learn how to manage your time more effectively, the less stressed you will feel and you will realise how much more you are achieving. It is easy to put things off and let them build up until they become a big group of unmanageable tasks, but if you get them out of the way as they come along you will find yourself with time to spare for yourself too.
If you are finding that your worklife is demanding too much of your time and leaving you with a million and one other things to do at home, it may be a good idea to consider ways in which you could alleviate the load. Could flexi-time or job-sharing be the answer? Employers know the importance of good and happy employees – so when a family situation occurs that could get in the way of you being able to get to work on time, for example, there are ways to resolve the situation. Whatever your circumstances, your employer may be able to re-arrange a schedule that suits you.
Things to negotiate may include:
- flexi-time,
- job-sharing
- swapping full-time work for part-time work or even working from home (telecommuting).
Do your research – see what your company’s policies are on all of these things and then approach your boss, putting your case forward and showing how your employer will benefit from the change too.
A happy worklife is the first step in creating a happy work and non-work balance.
Good employers recognise the benefits of their employees embarking on adult education programmes, whether work-related or not, as it is time spent profitably on the individual leading to a more satisfied and organised employee.
