Getting Ready for Back to School: Work-Life Balance

Summer’s coming to a close and as the kids head back to school it may seem that life’s pace is increasing at warp speed. Juggling your CLNC^® business, family, kids, friends and social obligations, it’s easy to feel that life is out of control. Here are three strategies for staying on the balance beam of life through the back-to-school season – whether you have kids or not. 🙂

Accept that achieving balance is often out of your control. On the positive side, there is no proof that a balanced life is a happier life. Having a child is the quickest way to put one’s life immediately out of balance, but people do it anyway. Recognize and accept that some of the things you choose will knock you off of your balance beam. It helps to focus on why you chose that thing in the first place – passion, fulfillment, legacy…
Recognize that balance can be highly overrated. Some Certified Legal Nurse Consultants experience extreme satisfaction and joy from their CLNC businesses that they simply don’t experience at the beach. It doesn’t mean they never take a day to go to the beach – they simply don’t fantasize about hanging out at the beach 24/7.
Acknowledge that stress can be self-imposed. I recently counseled a legal nurse consultant who seemed stressed by the simplest of business challenges. She was a bundle of irritability about so many things that were outside her circle of influence. My advice: “Alter your perceptions, which are clearly out of focus and are contributing to your stress. Decide what you can fix and let go of what you can’t.” There’s a reason I start and end each day with quiet time. That investment of time to recharge helps me bring the proper perceptions to most challenging situations – especially the ones I have no control over. Discover what restores you and adopt it as a tradition. Don’t let anyone keep you from it.

I aim to live passionately. That often means I’m not scoring a “10” on the balance beam of life. There will be a time and place for total balance. But for me, it won’t be as long as my heart is still beating. And as long as it is, I’ll continue to employ these three strategies when life and business try their best to knock me off the balance beam and onto the mat.

I’m Just Sayin’

P.S. Comment here and share your strategies for achieving work-life balance.