The Version of Work Life Balance That Sucks…

..the bonkers version that has the busy manager going crazy trying to accomplish the linear notion of balance.  It’s out in the the social paradigm and in every Sunday newspaper:

1. Monday to Friday – No weekend working.
2. 9-5
3. Getting all your ‘work work’ done and getting all your ‘home work’ done in a seamless equilibrium.
4. Nothing is sacrificed. Nothing suffers. No discomfort.
5. If you can’t crack being a superhero in the office and a magician of time at home you need to get your act together mate.
6. The version is all about the means – not the end. (See the real end game below)

The smart work life balance outlook:

1. Balance is whatever schedule and allocation of your time makes you happy. If you spend 60 hour a week in the office and you are happy with that – you have no work life balance issue (if you ignore the sucky version that is). If you want to spend 10 hours a week at your desk and that is you fulfilled – you have no balance issue.
2. Consider balance occurs over a longer period than a week. Think of what version of balance works for you over a month, three, six maybe or even a year, 10 years?
3. Sometimes the office will suffer as you prioritize the spouse and sometimes the spouse will suffer as you prioritise the office. There is no equilibrium without some sort of sacrifice and prioritising – that is the bit to balance over the longer term.

Choose to load the unique scales in your favour  – versus the one size fits all balance is baloney prescription that is killing us.