Let’s talk about work-life balance
You likely either love or hate the phrase, but the concept is so universally relevant: making time and energy for all the things in our lives: jobs, kids, pets, parents, friends, travel, exercise, obligations, ourselves.
We set goals around “better balance.” We tell our teams we “value” it. We promise ourselves that next “season” will be calmer, but how often does the needle actually move? Especially when it seems like most weeks can feel like we’re reacting rather than choosing, and we’re constantly feeling behind.
Whether we’re striving for balance or just being able to better show up in all the different ways life demands, here are a few practical strategies… not the Instagram kind, the evidence-based kind that works within real calendars and constraints.
Define non-negotiables. Similar to how we prioritize projects at work, we can apply that same prioritization to our lives. What are our true P0s right now? Maybe a workout three times a week, a promotion, a date night, being fully offline one weekend morning, dinner with our family. I’m not saying we can just eliminate obligations. But we can protect what matters most more deliberately. Clarity reduces resentment.
Choose success and trade-offs by the season. One of the fastest ways to burn out is to chase a definition of success that doesn’t fit our reality. There are seasons to stretch, to stabilize, to build, and to maintain. A promotion cycle, a company transition, a newborn, aging parents… each changes what success looks like. What does it look like in this season for you? When trade-offs are conscious, they feel more purposeful than resentful. And self-compassion goes a long way here too. Replace “I’m failing at this” with “This is a hard season.” Perfectionism destroys balance while realism sustains it.
Manage energy, not just time. Balance rarely means equal hours; it means sustainable energy. Most of us know how to hustle. Fewer of us know how to recover (and we don’t always need a two-week vacation… ok, maybe we do.) More seriously, we need consistent micro-recoveries: a 10-minute walk between meetings, protecting one high-focus morning, or a coffee catch-up with a friend. Small energy deposits compound.
Reduce friction points. Rather than overhauling our lives, we can remove one recurring drain. We can audit our weeks and notice what consistently frustrates or exhausts us. Can we delegate 10% of what drains us? Can we double down on 20% of what energizes? Can we redesign one recurring responsibility? Small tweaks can bring outsized relief.
Savor joy that comes in moments, not days. Balance isn’t just about reducing stress; it’s also about amplifying what’s good. Maybe 10 minutes of full attention before bedtime, a deliberate pause before walking into the house. Brief moments of joy, peace, love expand our capacity to carry the hard things.
If you were wishing one of these bullets read how to add more hours to the day, me too. We often think if only we had more time, we could strike better balance. However, I tend to think our real leverage comes less from more time (because we’d quickly fill that too) and more from clearer priorities, conscious trade-offs, and protected energy.
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