The Challenges of Work Life Balance

An insight and useful tool for Work Life Balance

One of the most common issues I get asked to manage by my clients and associates is work life balance, or more correctly, imbalance. Here is an insight and a useful tool that might help you assess where you stand when it comes to the work life balance equation.

work-life balanceWork-Life balance is the proper prioritisation of work and lifestyle aspects of your life. The distinction between work and leisure goes back to the 1800s, however the work-life balance terminology came into use in the 1970’s. And we still strive for that elusive equity!!

Life and work can often get busy and there are priorities stretching us in all directions. When your energy is focused on a special project, it’s all too easy to find yourself off balance, and not paying enough attention to important areas of your life. This can lead to significant stress and frustration.This is when its great to sit back and take a birds eye view of your life and help bring it back to some sense of balance – whatever that balance is for you.The Wheel of Life is a great tool to help you get that perspective and identify what areas of your life may need more attention….and move towards a better work life balance for you

wheel of life
The Wheel of Life provides a vivid visual representation of the way your life is – at this point in time – based on 8 core dimensions.

To use the tool, simply assess how satisfied you feel about each of those aspects on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being fully satisfied. Mark the score on the spoke of the wheel, and when you’ve finished, simply join the scores with a line. The low scores are the areas that need your attention.

Of course, that’s not to say that low scores always need attention. Sometimes you go through periods of your life where certain aspects take centre stage and other areas need to be neglected for a while. So make that judgement.

As an alternative use of the Wheel of Life, after putting in your current satisfaction levels, draw in a second wheel of where you believe the levelsshould be and this will also provide a perspective of what areas need more of your attention.

And finally, share this with your partner and compare your wheels so that you can help each other work towards a balance that suits you both.

Download a copy of the Wheel of Life and create your own wheel.

I trust this is useful and will be happy to receive any questions or feedback