My new work/life balance

I believe we all struggle with work life balance.  I have just finished my first week in my new part time role, 25hrs a week.  

The benefits to working less, I believe are obvious such as having more time, time for hobbies, friends, family, health, or even working on bigger and better projects and then there are the less obvious benefits, such as improving creativity and productivity.  

Work-life balance is very difficult to achieve as our brains have not evolved to determine exactly how much we need to work. Our brains want us to survive and reproduce, and working more seems to contribute to those end goals. Our brain’s anxiety about survival and reproduction motivates us to work more, even though it’s not usually in our best interest.  

Maybe our brains are hardwired to think that working excessively to gather resources contributes to survival and reproduction.  We have all learnt though that more work doesn’t always lead to more money or a more fulfilling life.  Unfortunately, many people have learnt that excessive work has lead to burnout and mental health issues such as depression.

Working hard and working more can help us get more done, and, assuming like me, you are doing the right work, that can help you make more money.  Unfortunately, there are times when anxiety is rational and we legitimately need to work more in order to survive, but more often than not, working too much can do more harm than good.  I can see a counterintuitive reality and that is that working more does not always mean working productively if it means eventually everyone of us is going to burn out.

Like every other challenge in life, there is the simple but hard solution, and a complex but easy solution.  For my health, the simple but hard solution is for me to eat more healthily.  This solution requires discipline, but it doesn’t cost money, and it’s proven to work. The complex but easy solution is to pay for the latest dad diet.

The simple but hard solution to workaholism is to work less. This means saying “no” to unnecessary responsibilities.  I call this the hard solution for a reason. First, it would be a bruise to your ego to admit you can’t handle something. Second, it requires introspection and change in order to address underlying anxieties or insecurities that may be the impetus for pathological working habits.

Often times, continuing to work excessively, leads to burnout, which results in an extended period of low productivity, or an unfulfilling life, void of meaningful relationships or even physical and mental health problems.

Once I gained insight, it was easier for me to make healthier decisions about my work. I worked to purely dispell the myth that I’m not worthy of love unless I have massive amounts of wealth and since deciding to step down to part time, I’ve said no to many great opportunities in order to keep my life in balance.  I’m healthier and happier for it.  I have time for my plasma every fourth week and therefore have time to get well.   

To me, it is idealistic to work less and it helps my health, which helps my productivity, and in turn my life so it was the best thing I have ever done.