So I was needlessly wasting time on Facebook the other day when a great friend of mine linked up this video on Ted that is a talk from Nigel Marsh on the work/life balance. Ironically, this is a topic that has been at the forefront of my brain for some time.
I am an all or nothing kind of person. I hit everything in my life 110% or nothing which leaves very little room for balance. As I continue to get older and start looking at starting a family with my wife, I am coming to the gripping realization that I can not keep burning both ends of the match for forever. If I really want to have a successful, happy and full life, I have to start to learn how to not only balance work and life, but delegate tasks and give up some of my control.
The process of making work not run your life is not an easy one and it can not be done all at once. Currently, I am looking into using VA’s for a lot of my business tasks to free up time to focus on growth and planning. The future is in efficiency…not longer hours.
What Marsh goes on to illustrate in this video…that I suggest everyone listens to (not long…only about 10 minutes)…is that we are caught in a race that we can not win. We constantly put off living until a later date by stretching ourselves too thin in the present. Part of this is the structure of our workplaces, but a large sum of it boils down to our want and desire for someone to swoop in from the heavens and fix it for us.
We have to start looking within ourselves to fix the issues of our lives. The work/life balance is something only we can fix through changing our attitudes and actions. In the end…this is our one and only shot at living life to the fullest and the little moments can matter the most.
And most of all, people need to stop “working long, hard hours, at jobs they hate to enable them to buy things they don’t need, to impress people they don’t like. ”
11 comments
Using VA’s can make us delegate some works and give us time to concentrate into one work we love to do with efficiency.
Isn’t Nigel urging us to do more than utilize VA’s – to really take hold of who we are and our vision for the future and becoming more conscious and deliberate about how we prioritize and manage our personal and professional lives?
Absolutely. I just used that as one example of how I am opening up time for a more efficient business approach that frees up time for personal. This was not an article on why we need VA’s.
Great video, thanks Robb. I have a baby coming in April, time to sort the balance out!
Joel its tough with a baby! You’re sleep schedule is all off, but at least they do a sleep for the majority of a 24 hour cycle. It’s a big adjustment but totally worth it!
Thanks Lonnie, and congrats to you as well 🙂
Awesome news Joel!!! Congrats man.
Cheers Robb, I appreciate it.
Work/Life balance is so important. Right now I work full time and then go home and work on my online business. Plus I have a 3 year old and another little girl coming in July. I’m trying to work hard now so I don’t have to later, but it breaks you down. I’m not nearly as productive as I would like to be because silly things like dinner with the family and sleep keep getting in the way.
I don’t want money to buy things, but just to be a provider for my family.
Congrats on the new addition coming Lonnie! It’s all about finding a balance between making a good life for you and your family and actually enjoying it at the same time. Good luck with it!
Wow! I love TED and this is why. Nigel is on about what I teach and speak about. I learned the lessons when my mom died some 25 years ago. I’ve gotten well out of balance the last two years but finding it again by reaching out to form real relationships instead of virtual ones, and creating time for FUN well beyond just work. I’ve given up the feeling of guilt I used to feel if I didn’t go online every day, and I’ve even added back in hand written thank yous (I built my first biz on that and got busy). Making life personal again is rewarding and empowering. Thanks for sharing this Robb.