Decoding Work-Life Balance

While one of the most discussed aspects or the aspect that most defines a good workplace is the “Work life balance” it offers, it is a combination of several personal and environmental aspects.

No doubt, availability of resources and distribution of work do play an important role in determining that “Balance”, it is also a function of certain individual aspects and that is what I am going to speak about today. But before I begin, let me tell you one thing that I have realized over time, when you work in an area that interests you, inspires you and that you thoroughly care about, the line between balance and the lack of it, is extremely thin. Also, there are phases in one's career, when one's passion to pursue something may blur this line even more. Through this article, I list down 5 things that I have come to realize about attaining some semblance of balance between work and life. Here we go:

1. Identifying your style of working: This is the style you enjoy the most and it’s the one that helps you give your best without compromising on your well-being. For me, being organized with my time is the most important aspect of being able to maintain the balance. I’m a planner, I thrive on planning well and I perform better when I know how my week & day is going to pan out. I absolutely detest showing up to work, not knowing what my first task for the day will be but I’m also learning to be mindful of flexibility (starting my career in a Big4 comes to my rescue during these times) in terms of emergency deliverables that may come up. I’m also someone who prefers deep work over a period of time over being interrupted with calls and messages, though it’s not something one can control when it involves stakeholder engagement (I’ll talk about how I try handling this in the upcoming points). One more thing, higher the volume or criticality of work, the more the need for quality planning. I have learnt to ask the expected timeline for any deliverable expected of me, this helps me plan and prioritize better. Let me tell you, despite all of that planning to it is possible to slip up on certain things and that’s ok, you’re only human. However, the simple act of listing down your things to do, pinning important e-mails, flagging time sensitive deliverables and ticking them off can be such a relieving practice when it comes to taking off the mental load.
2. Accountability & Trust: This is a non-negotiable. I’ve been extremely blessed to have had a chance to work with some really great mentors in my career. Very early in my career, one of my mentors had mentioned “Your work is your Credentials Deck”.

The quality of your deliverables, and timeliness are two things that will determine how well your team can trust you.

Nobody from your team should be left second guessing about these two things. If some one trusts you with something, you should be able to inspire confidence in them. In a reasonable workplace, when you work, how much time you spend working etc. are not matters of concern as long as you are doing a fairly good job. That’s why, work life balance is a two way street, you gain trust and earn the confidence of your team, and asserting your balance becomes easier to practice. A good manager wouldn't really enjoy micro-managing every single deliverable assigned to you, they'd much rather prefer you do your job without being bothered about HOW you would fit that in.

3. Setting boundaries: Another important aspect here is, also allotting time for things that are absolutely important to you. I will be writing an article on “Non-negotiables & Bare minimum” and I’ll link it here. However, if I have to summarize it, it would be:

“Unless you show up for yourself and honor the commitments you make to yourself , you cannot really do a good JOB that also brings you joy”.

I’ve had years where I have lived off junk food, no working out, no movement, working late nights, no art, no writing and by the end of it, I was utterly dissatisfied. But we learn from our mistakes and we try to do better. So, on most days (I wouldn't say everyday, because that’s practically impossible), I’ll make it a point to incorporate things that are good for me, in the long term and I don’t let anything get in the way, just like I would avoid any distractions during my working hours. This goes a long way in building trust within yourself, by that I mean, you know you can rely on yourself to do what is best for you. That in turn has a ripple effect and starts to reflect how well you prioritize things at and outside of work. Anybody who has had a chance to read my CV, will see that under key strengths, I mention

"Demonstrate balance between work and life outside of work"

Knowing that you love what you do, but also being able to dissociate from it, not making your job your entire identity, is a sign of the balance we all so desperately seek.

4. Deep work in your “Best slots”: This is the most sacrosanct time during my working hours. It’s usually the early parts of the morning, immediately after my workout or once I’m in office or at my home desk. Mornings are when my brain is the most active and when I feel fresh. I try getting in all those tasks that need a lot of thinking by then. Recently, I have started logging in earlier than usual just to be able to make the most of the headspace I have to write. This has also turned out to be a smart decision because, I am faster during my "Best Slots", more patient with myself and I am likely to get some good quality work in. We all know that for every job you love, there are things about it that you don’t but have to do, anyway.??One of the things that works for me is allotting time slots for time-wasters (I recently read that work expands as per the time you allot to it). So making more time for things that need attention, while reducing the time required for things like a follow up are ways to not just improve the balance but also the quality of work.

One of the major reasons for burn outs is because individuals feel the lack of 'autonomy' and while that may be due to the environment that one works in, it could also be a result of adopting a reactive approach on the part of the individual. I realized that while working remotely, meetings and calls are non-negotiable, earlier I perceived it as a deterrent. However, starting early was my solution to avoid all the traffic (pun intended) that starts once everyone is in. It also gives me a chance to log out on time and not feel like I have no time left for other things in life (goes a long way in making me feel holistically good because I would never want to go back to working 12-14 hours a day and living only for the weekends).

5. Being flexible with switching off: I opened this article with a disclaimer about "thin lines" and this is where I want to elaborate on it. Earlier, I would also try really hard to switch off post work, stressing myself out and not really enjoying even my down time. So, while I do wind down as my time is up, I don’t force myself to stop thinking about my work. I am learning every single day and with the kind of exposure we have to research and social media, it often leaves us feeling inadequate or wrong about our approach. Especially when one works in a dynamic domain, there are times when work takes precedence and while I am mindful of NOT falling prey to it every time, I am also mindful of allowing myself to fully immerse in the work when its "GO TIME", sometimes losing track of time.

Often times, I note things down on my phone if something does come to my mind post work and allow myself to seamlessly settle between working and disconnecting. Because work life balance is not just about logging out on time, it’s about creating a life that’s flexible and that leaves one inspired to live a FULL life.

Our work should not be something that puts us into restrictive boxes and stifles our growth in other aspects of life, it is an extension of our abilities and interests. It should truly help us expand our horizons and empower us to share our gifts so that we can create something that brings us joy and makes us feel valued.

This one was longer than my other articles, but there was so much to say. I hope you enjoyed reading this one.