5 Paradigm Shifts to Improve Work-Life Balance

A lot of corporate senior leaders struggle with this topic: work-life balance.

They are being lived by their agenda with days filled with endless meetings, incoming ad hoc requests, and emails piling up.

Do you recognize this?

No matter how good you are at planning your day, blocking time to get strategic work done, delegating operational tasks, and developing daily routines, at the end of the day, you always lack the time to get everything done at work.

You start to work longer days, catch up on emails at night, and think about work during the weekend.

You get home late for family dinners, and when you are at home, you are easily distracted because of incoming emails (still...) and lots of thoughts about work running through your head.

When you finally find a moment to rest and reflect on your day, you realize that your work-life balance is far from ideal.

You tell yourself that it is the price you pay for having this corporate leadership role. But...

Deep down inside, you know you can't continue like this forever.

You are missing out on family time, fun with friends, hobbies, and, more importantly, time for yourself.

It is undeniable that the lack of balance between work and life impacts your mental health and well-being.

You know all of this... but you don't know how to change it as long as you are in your corporate leadership role.

Throughout my corporate career of almost 20 years, and later on, when coaching senior leaders, it became clear that if you want to change anything, you need to start with your mindset.

If you are willing to look at your mindset about work-life balance and change it, you already won the first battle.

Therefore, I have put together five paradigm shifts that will help you improve your work-life balance.

Consider these paradigm shifts to challenge your mindset and replace your thoughts with new insights to drive impactful & sustainable changes:

1. You don't live once, you only die once. You live every day.

Don't postpone life and wait for working days to become less busy. In corporate, there will always be another transformation, reorganization, or special project that will consume your time and energy. Find a way to surf the waves without letting life pass.

2. Cemeteries are full of people that cannot be missed.

It is a harsh truth, but think twice before you go above and beyond for work. Your work is not worth risking your mental health and well-being, nor your connections with others. You might fall into the trap of thinking that work will not continue without you, but the opposite is true.

3. You are not your job, you work in your job.

It is easy to lose your identity over your job if you cannot see it as one of the roles you have in your life. You are not a senior corporate leader; you hold a leadership position. You are so much more than that. Thinking of it this way makes life easier, especially during unprecedented times such as company restructurings.

4. Productivity increases when you stop multitasking.

Although it seems efficient to tackle tasks simultaneously, multitasking isn't productive. Instead, it is a huge energy drainer that will get you out of your flow. I recently published an article about multitasking in Brainz Magazine that will give you more insights.

5. Manage your energy, not your time.

Your energy, if used optimally, increases your productivity and works for you to get things done with ease. Focus on bringing yourself into the energy mode that feels effortless and in the flow. Instead of managing your time and emphasizing your lack of time, manage your energy levels. A great way to get started is by conducting this Energy Up! Assessment .

Which ones hit you the most?

Now, it's up to you to start working on your mindset toward work-life balance.

If you can use some support in doing this, fill out this short form to see if I could help you.

Fabienne is a Career Coach for Corporate Senior Leaders. She empowers them to lead with confidence and transition to their dream career so they can wake up feeling energized, motivated, and passionate about what they do!

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