Balancing Life – It’s all about time and energy in the now

How can we keep balancing the many aspects of our life under constantly changing conditions? One key is to be aware of the current situation and realize that some areas may require more time and energy while others may be able to get by with less, at least temporarily.

I think of examples in my life like when I’ve had a work deadline that required extra time for a week or even more.  Or summer vacation when my daughter’s home from school and my schedule is totally different.  I think about major shifts like a friend who’s life has been turned upside down because a close member family was recently diagnosed with a devastating illness.  It’s taking a huge amount of her time and energy so she’s been spending less on her work and her own health.  Even though some areas can get by with less attention for awhile, it’s important we don’t neglect them too long or they can turn into a crisis that makes things even worse. 

What can we do? 

It’s easy to see that time is a set quantity.  It’s an external component that we can’t control.  If we identify an area that needs more of our time, a few options are:

• Asking for help – Maybe help with our family or work
• Delegating – Totally handing pieces off to someone else like a project or task
• Limiting time – Identifying parts of our life where we can cut back or maybe even put some piece on hold for awhile

Energy is a whole different story.  Energy is an internal component we can take steps to maximize.  Tony Schwartz talks about the four different kinds of energy we need to balance in his book, The Way We’re Working Isn’t Working. They are physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual energy.  I’ll go into these more in next week’s tip.

In the meantime, feel free to download this worksheet to help you reflect on the current status of your life balance.

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Tina Hallis, Ph.D. is Chief Positivity Officer of The Positive Edge, a company dedicated to helping people and organizations increase their positivity to improve the quality of people’s work lives and the quality of company cultures. She is certified in Positive Psychology, an authorized partner for Everything DiSC®, and a Professional Member of the National Speaker’s Association