It's funny the last few months have been complete chaos and I'm talking about work/life balance. Between juggling new clients, a new relationship, family and friends it has gotten a little hectic. But when I get stressed I can't help but laugh because it's not healthy to stress the small stuff, especially when it is things you can't change. I have a bad habit of worrying about things that are out of my control. It something that I'm constantly working on, just like I'm trying to find the balance in my life.
The FOUR aspects in life:
Family
Friends
Work
Relationship
Now because of who I am as a person; I tend to follow passion over logic. It's a blessing and a curse. On one hand it has led me to teach myself self discipline. On the other, I still struggle with focusing all my energy only on the things I'm passionate about rather than the things that actually need to get done.
Friends
I would like to think that the key component to not going absolutely crazy is to take a step back every once in a while. The other day I met with a friend who I worked with back in my Panera days. I hadn't seen her in over a year. We've tried to keep in touch but just like everything else, life gets in the way. Over coffee we talked about what were up to and how our lives have changed. She confined in me that her family had been dealing with a very traumatic incident over the past six months that I had no idea even happened. In the moment, I couldn't help but feel guilty for not working harder to keep up our relationship.
Family
It's a lot easier said than done to not get so wrapped up in our own lives and our own issues. I know I get so consumed with work when I come that I don't even notice how many hours I spend in my room when I could be spending more time with my family. Just an hour break to catch up our all our day makes a world of a difference.
Relationship
Only in the past few months I've added a new aspect to the equations. I feel weird talking about it because it frankly has never been a big part of my life. It's something I thought I have never been good at but that was me letting my insecurities get the best of me. Now that I'm in a relationship, I have a new appreciation for people who have spent so many years together: relationships take work and LOTS of patience.
This fairly new relationship is a puzzle piece that I'm still trying to place correctly. I know no one has it all figured out but balancing it with everything else has bene difficult. Funny enough, it has caused me to do less of the things I want and more of the things that need to get done -- or this could really just all be a sign that I'm slowly turning into an adult.
Work
Yes, work has 100% spilled into my personal life. It's how I've functioned this past year. I've met friends through work, I've experienced new places, eaten new food (food blogger boss perks), and really almost every other aspect. Lately, I've been trying to take a step back because I do think it has gotten to be a little too much. It's about finding those people and activities that add value to your life and not just because they are convenient.
I don't think it's about making a drastic change but rather recognizing that sometimes I need to push myself to focus on other aspects in my life other than work and my new relationship.
What about you? How do you manage your work/life balance?