It is not Balance but Flexibility

I always struggled with the concept of trying to find the right work/life balance. It became almost a mystical pursuit of some type of life Zen or equilibrium, where I would be able to devote just the right amount of time to my personal and professional sides of life. It never seemed to work. I’d find myself drifting more towards work and then feeling guilty because I was not allocating enough time to personal activities.

It wasn’t until I attended a conference that I began to think differently about work/life balance. One of the keynote speakers was the CEO of Tyson and he used the analogy of a roller coaster. The ride is filled with a bunch of ups and downs. He likened that to our lives. The ride is not flat, not at the same speed.

He said that was the attitude we needed to adopt. There will be times when the ride should be focused on work, then other times where our focus should be on the personal. The image we needed to paint for ourselves that life was not linear and constant, it moved unevenly and at a different pace. I hung onto that, but I thought there needed to be more.

Want to see or listen to the rest of the article? You’ll read/hear:

• Focus changes when you seek flexibility.
• Control and autonomy become easier to attain.
• Outcomes are easier to predict.
• Relationship capital makes flexibility easier.
• Get the opportunity to take the Work/Life Flexibility assessment

Read or Listen!

David Buck is the author of the book The Time-Optimized Life, owner of Kairos (Time) Management Solutions, LLC. Learn how to apply the concepts of proactively planning and using your time. Take the Time Management Analysis (TMA), the Retirement Time Analysis (RTA), or all the other free resources offered to help bring more quality time into your life.