6 Key Steps Towards a Holistic Life and Work-Life Balance

Posted on November 25, 2019 by Shiwani Gurwara, One of Thousands of Life Coaches on Noomii.

Achieving work-life balance is not impossible but I would be kidding if I said it is easy. It is one of the most common reasons that cause stress. If you want to work and feel better, getting back the control is essential if you want a stress-free, meaningful and happy life.

BARRIERS TO WORK-LIFE BALANCE
There are some basic barriers to achieving work-life balance. Consider some of these and ask yourself if they apply to you.

1. Do you really want to achieve this balance or are you happy being a workaholic and just complaining about not finding time for family? There is nothing wrong with wanting to follow your passion. Others may think it is sacrilege to want to spend more time with work than family but that’s okay. Think of what YOU really want.
2. What changes are you willing to make to your current lifestyle in order to achieve this balance? If you are looking for a magic wand that will give you more than 24 hours a day, that’s not going to happen. You will need to work through the tools and tips and make those changes in order to achieve this balance.
3. Are you worried you will lose your position in your office if you spend less time in the office? if you believe that the time spent at work is what defines your position and are insecure about your job, then you may have to re-think your job or your mindset. There are only so many effective hours that you can put into work at the office, after which it becomes a game of depleting returns.

SIX STEPS TO ACHIEVING A MEANINGFUL & HAPPY LIFE
If you understand what’s holding you back, then take a look at these 6 steps you can take towards a more holistic life.

1. Set Priorities – The first thing to do is to make a list of all priorities that you have. Rank them in order so you know what comes first. Remember to be true to yourself and don’t let peripheral thoughts cloud your own mind. It is possible too that you may realize that you need a change in your job or work scenario to make things completely whole for you.

2. Ideal Work and Home Scenario – Creating the ideal work and home scenarios in your mind help in understanding how you would like to spend your time. If you are working with a coach, these aspects will come out in discussions. However, if you are doing this on your own, make sure to write things down so you yourself gain the clarity that you need. Often enough, we think of these things in a casual manner and do not pay heed to the specifics when thinking of these things casually.

3. Time Management – Make a broad chart of the priorities that you have and the amount of time that you spend on each of those. This is will give you how much of your life’s chart is dominated by one or the other. Create the ideal chart for yourself too so you will know where to pend lesser time and the area where you need to spend more time. This exercise can be done at a broad level or a drilled down level of specific activities too.

4. Asking for Help – Remember managing a lot of things in your life is not easy and trying to do everything on your own may not be the smartest thing to do. Don’t shy away from asking for help if you realize that you need someone to pitch in. This could be your mother, father, aunt or spouse. Asking for help does not mean you cannot manage your life on your own. It means that you are aware of the situation and know when to reach out to those who love you and want to help anyway.

5. Learning to Say No – It is very easy for others to lean on someone who finds it difficult to say no. Not everyone asks you to do things out of malicious intent, but it is far easier to just ask someone who will take on a task without saying no. Be a master of your own time and priorities and set boundaries to ensure that people do not walk all over you. If you lay yourself down as an easy target, you should take responsibility for your actions.

6. Handling Guilt – Guilt is not an emotion that is natural. People in different cultures feel guilty about different things. The things that an Indian might feel guilty about may be completely different from those that an American will. This establishes that guilt is associated with deep values and beliefs that are created and set inside our minds at the early stages of life. It also establishes that guilt is an emotion that is triggered by external forces. Be confident about what you are doing and know that you are the only person who can know the best way to handle your affairs, irrespective of what anyone else says or has said in the past.