I have learnt my lesson about work-life balance. This year, I will take three weeks off. No messing around with trying to get posts finished, coaching calls completed, personal development courses done.

The Christmas and New Year holidays are an exception, during which you can spend more time doing your own thing. Your enjoyable experience of time spent with family and friends may prompt you to think again about your work-life balance.

Write your work-life balance rules.

Today – possibly for the first time – corporate rules about when you can take a break no longer apply to you. Indeed, freedom is one of the reasons you decided to go independent and write your own rules about your work-life balance.

In some ways, it was easier in the corporate world. At least there was clarity. As an independent, however, it’s up to you to decide how much time you devote to your work, personal life, and family.

Time is just one life-work balance consideration

Work-life balance is not all about time. Other considerations, especially money, can help you determine your work-life balance to make everyone happy.

• Values. Your values are the guidelines for how you live your life, and you should have clarity about your values and build them into the equation of your work-life balance.
• Fees. Your fee rate (and capacity) are key factors in determining if you earn enough to live your planned lifestyle. A higher fee income can mean more personal time. However, your fee rate depends on your expertise and what the market will bear.
• Capacity. Every independent professional should work out their capacity to earn after holidays, administration, marketing, buffer time and all the other things that get in the way of earning fees. Does capacity times price enable you to live meaningfully?
• Purpose. Money is one of many incentives to work. If you aspire to a lifestyle of Purposeful Prosperity, you will be keen to make a difference and ensure your life has purpose and meaning, which will impact your work-life balance.
• Risk and negativity bias. It’s easy to overestimate the downside and decide that work must take absolute priority over life “in case something goes wrong”.

Work-life balance is a clunky phrase implying that it’s about time alone. However, it goes deeper than that and encompasses your values, purpose, lifestyle aspirations, money and approach to risk.

So take some time out this Christmas, and if you do anything work-related, make a plan for your work-life balance.

What do you think?

Does your current mix of work and personal time work for you?

Will the forthcoming break be stressful because you are thinking about work and what you still need to do, or relaxed because you have let go of work for a while?

What is your #1 consideration in determining how much time you spend at work? Are you happy with your answer?

Join the conversation and leave your thoughts in the comment box below.

Photo attribution

Photo by Fabrizio Verrecchia on Unsplash

Audio link

https://audio.com/jeremy_deedes/work-life-balance/

Taking it further

Read and work on the exercises in these “Achieving Purposeful Prosperity” information pamphlets:

• Seven common mistakes and how to avoid them
• Avoiding the pitfalls of negativity bias
• Select values that will drive your lifestyle.

https://jeremydeedes.com/self-help/

Related posts

https://wordsnotdeeds.co.uk/left-brain-dominance/

ABOUT

I work with ambitious, family-oriented professionals transitioning to independent consultants to create a 3 to 5-year holistic plan so that they grow wealthy, make a difference and find meaning.

My clients are aged 35-50. They are in a long-term relationship with family and parents who are supportive but ageing. They wrestle with personal and financial responsibilities and dream of more control, wealth, time and purpose.

If this excites you, you are coachable, willing to change, and want to stop going around in circles, then find out more at jeremydeedes.com

Then, take your next step and explore your way forward with a Mapmaker, a one-off online coaching gig to help you decide your options, assess our compatibility, and determine whether we are the right fit. Mapmaker is excellent value, held in confidence and without further commitment.

What do you think?

Your views are important, and your fellow readers would love to hear your opinion,
so share your thoughts in the comments box below, and thank you for your time and generosity.

What do you think?

Your views are important, and your fellow readers would love to hear your opinion, so share your thoughts in the comments box below, and thank you for your time and generosity.