Abandon Nest

Sometimes, it seems, maintaining a proper work/life balance is an extremely difficult thing to do. You need to maintain your career momentum, and sometimes that means working long hours, getting to work earlier than normal, and basically being a company man. On the other hand, it’s also important to actually live your life the way you want to in order to find personal fulfillment. What’s a guy to do?

I think I’ve handled myself pretty well for the last couple of months with my first “real” job. Here, I’d like to explore the things that I do, and that you can apply to your life. Hopefully you’ll find your work/life balance as conducive to happiness as mine seems to be.

1. Work hard - When you’re on the job, make sure you’re working hard. Get things done, finish your projects, participate in meetings, and help your business succeed. Occasionally staying a half hour late or getting to work a half hour early isn’t going to kill you. If you stay busy and work hard, your days will go by quicker.
2. Play hard - Whatever you’re passionate about, whatever you like to do, throw yourself into it completely for at least a little time each week. Love to bike? Find a park with hills and valleys to ride through for a few hours. Partial to hobby web development? Take a couple of hours each weekend or an hour a night and do some design and coding. Make sure you devote yourself to your hobby when you get the chance to do so.
3. Stay in contact with family and friends - A lot of times people become so focused on work that they don’t realize that they’re neglecting their family and friends. They don’t understand that talking about work all the time and complaining about the boss does not endear them to their closest relations. Communicate with your brother, sister, mom, or dad. Talk to your girl or boyfriend about the sky, the weather, your goals, or their new haircut. Just don’t make it about work. Do it consistently
   and regularly, and you’ll be in good shape.
4. Reserve a rest day - I’m serious. At least once every two weeks, reserve a day where you get 8-12 hours to just relax. Obviously for most this will have to come on a weekend, but that’s ok. On your relaxation day, do nothing that requires you to focus for too long. Take a bath. Read a good book. Let the hours waste away for at least one day. I had a friend in high school who used to call this a “mental health day.” I like to think of it as recharging my batteries.

I think it’s very important to develop some type of plan that will help you cement yourself in life. So now that I’ve explained my strategy, what do you do to keep yourself sane with a good work/life balance?