Time goes by and the more I learn, the more I believe that the work-life balance is a myth. It is just a concept that many have bought without questioning.

My reasons to believe that the work-life balance is a myth

I believe it is a myth because:

1. It implies that one is bad or heavy and the other one is good or light, therefore a balance is required.
2. It has been understood as that workers shall spend the same amount of time in leisure and at work, which isn’t reasonable.
3. Some companies thought they are responsible for structuring the lives of their employees outside of normal working hours, which makes no sense.
4. For women it means that they need to achieve equal personal and professional success, so they can have it all.
5. Work and school schedules and holydays don’t match, so working people has to move financial resources to match them in some way.
6. Your job is one of the different elements of your life, like your health, learning, relationships, etc. In fact, it’s interwoven within several of its elements.
7. Having a busy and relevant job, do not necessarily brings meaning and joy to your life, there’re other components to the equation of joy, like meaning and fulfilment.
8. Our lives are not static, we are continuously evolving and changing, which brings movement and unbalance.
9. Even those who’ve advocated for it, are talking about the importance of having a meaningful work, working in an empathetic environment, having a sense of contribution.

What I propose instead

Let’s use the concepts; life harmony and intentional unbalance instead of work-life balance. 

Because what you want is to live in harmony, feeling accomplished and satisfied by who you are and what you do, and for achieving that there will be moments when you’ll focus more on some elements of your life than in others.

On the other hand, you are not a human doing, you are a human being and I believe your life stands over several pillars and for you to have a sense of balance and fulfilment in your life, you need:

1. Your body functioning at its best, having a good physical health, nutrition, movement, sleep, rest and pleasure.
2. Your mind being sharpened through opportunities for continual learning, professional development, creativity and play.
3. A good emotional management by being aware of your self worth and esteem, being present and mindful, having good selfcare and stress management practices.
4. To feel connected, appreciated and supported by your significant one; your family and loved ones; your friends, colleagues and the community; and feel connected with nature.
5. To wisely manage your resources, including your income and other physical resources; your talents, skills and experiences; and… of course your time. 
6. To have a sense of meaning, purpose, contribution and connection with what you do, your spiritual beliefs and your community.

As you can see, your job isn’t separated from your life, it’s interweaved with most of its components. Because you need to be physically, mentally and emotionally healthy; feel that what you do has a meaning and that in some way you contribute to something bigger than yourself; have healthy relationships with loved ones, friends and the environment and feel satisfied with your material resources and how you manage them, in order for you to be productive and feel that your life is meaningful and fulfilling.

What to do

I know this may sound overwhelming but it’s easier than you think, as all these elements are interrelated and the way you do anything is the way you do everything.

The first step is to ask yourself questions in order to find out which components of your life are you putting aside while chasing the un-reachable Work-Life Balance and see how you can change that.

So, do you still think that having a Work-Life Balance is possible? Or do you agree with me that it’s just a myth?

Do you want to create harmony and intentional unbalance in your life? Let’s have a chat, book a FREE conversation with me!!!