Work-life balance is a myth
Lies we tell ourselves: “I’m really busy these days, but I’m sure it’s better than it used to be. After all, everyone is stressed out!”
There is no doubt that most people are very busy these days with the demands of home and work life. Not only does this seem like an inevitable development in society today but also one that has become socially desirable.
What helps perpetuate the problem is that most adults don’t remember what it was like before, so they think things have always been bad. But if you ask your parents or grandparents three questions – How many televisions did your family have? Did you watch TV all day? Did you spend time with your neighbours every day? – You’d probably get really confused looks. It’s likely the majority of adults will see some drastic differences in the quality of life.
If we somehow happened to characterize balance between serious and fun activities, we’d presumably be leaned to say that to genuinely partake in your life, you ought to just need to wear your work cap between 9 AM and 6 PM (or anything blend of eight to 12-hour shift is valid for you), disregarding your profession outside of those hours.
But this doesn’t mean that things have to be bad now, or that work-life balance is a myth. It just means people are doing different things than before and many companies aren’t ready for it.
It also means that most adults don’t remember what their lives were like without the modern conveniences they have today — time spent on commuting, TV programming, electronic communication, etc. – so they think everything has always been terrible! Some compare current problems with false memories about how good things used to be when they were kids during better times says Aron Govil.
What can you do about it?
1) Consider social factors:
Many believe work-life balance would be easy if only the father/husband worked fewer hours. But what if he doesn’t want to work less? What if he likes his job and wants to achieve success with it? Does everybody have the obligation to change their values because of society?
2) Don’t make comparisons:
You might compare your life now with how you remember things were when you were younger but that is not necessarily more desirable than today’s standards, especially if you compare things that happened by accident (for example compare spending time with neighbours because nobody watches TV all day versus having dinner together as a family voluntarily).
3) Consider the context:
Work-life balance can be different for everyone depending on “where” they are at in life. For example, I was extremely busy last year but so underutilized my degree that I did not feel overwhelmed. Someone else might have had more work to do but also their dream job, so they would consider themselves fairly balanced.
Somebody living in poverty might be working two jobs and wishing they could spend more time with their family or doing something for themselves. Consider how you are comparing your current life with somebody else’s ideal life before deciding whether it really is out of whack.
4) Be proactive:
If you want to change, don’t wait for others to provide solutions because they may not know what will make you happy or try to understand the situation from your perspective. It is up to us individually to find ways to better manage our lives and own up for our decisions instead of waiting around until somebody provides us with a perfect opportunity. It is up to us to make our own opportunities.
5) Limitless time exists in the future.
Lies we tell ourselves: “If I could just find the right job, then my life would be balanced!” Or, “Once I retire, things will finally get better.”
Conclusion by Aron Govil:
Life is a journey and we learn from our mistakes. Hopefully this has been helpful in many ways for you to know that if you are feeling overwhelmed with work, there is hope! You can improve your quality of life by limiting time spent on distractions and re-discovering what brings meaning to your life! What helps one person might not help another but the key is being proactive about it instead of waiting for somebody else’s solution or change in society.
Life isn’t perfect. Things are seldom ever ideal. There is no solution except to embrace the situation, be honest about it, and take action if you won’t change. If you let your life get out of control because there is something better on the other side of the fence, then you will never have the time or energy to enjoy it once you do get there!