The first step in trying to figure out you what you want, is to analyse where you are now. You aren’t going to be able to change anything if you don’t acknowledge what is happening and know what resources you have available to you.
As mentioned before, what a work-life balance looks like varies from person to person, and it also varies for each individual at different times of life depending on what is going on.
Before you can agree on what your day/week/month will look like, you also need to consider how you want to feel, what resources you have available to you and what else is going on.
A good way of doing this is to create a mind map. I have created a version that you can download, but you can of course develop your own. Have a think about the topics that you want to use so that it encompasses all areas of your life as you need to involve both your work and personal life. What thoughts spring to mind of everything that is going on in your life. This exercise is all about getting everything that is going on in your head, down on paper so that you can understand what you are thinking and feeling.
Consider the time that is available to you, how you want to feel and what thoughts are holding you back? Who else is involved in your decision making and how does that influence and impact on you? Don’t think about the answers to the questions, just write them all down for now.
Putting time into knowing your expectations and boundaries can really help you to make decisions that work for you.
Take the time to sit down and complete your own mind map as the more information that you are aware of, the easier it will be to identify a useable plan for you.
Now you have everything out of your head and down on paper, take some time to look at everything that you have written and complete the sheet attached to work out how many persona’s you have. I’m sure you are aware that you have a “personal” and a “professional” life, but what about all the other hats that you wear? Are you the same as a parent as you are when you are around friends? Do you adapt your behaviour, or try to act in a certain way when you are around your relatives as opposed to being with your partner? Yes, you are one person, but there are many different elements to you, and by identifying what those are, it can help to work out when you are being true to yourself, and when things don’t feel right.
