Work-Life Balance for Thanksgiving Weekend
Creating your own personal vision of work-life balance is a recommendation I make to my clients during my time management workshop facilitation, coaching and consulting.
To begin shaping your definition of work-life balance, here are four questions to ask yourself:
How many hours each day do you want to work?
How many of the above hours do you want to spend working at home (outside of your “workday”)?
How many days per week do you want to work?
How much time do you want to invest in well-being and self-care each day or each week?
When you define what work-life balance means to you, you clarify a measurable goal for your brain. When your brain understands what you are seeking, your mind will allow logic to creep in and make decisions. When, on the other hand, our decision-making is ruled by emotions, we tend to work longer in order to get just one more thing done out of fear of disappointing others (what I refer to as FODO). When logic is allowed to enter, it suddenly doesn’t seem very rational to work around the clock, to not be fully present in your personal life and to not invest in your quality of life by resting.
The start of a new year will be here in the blink of an eye, but there’s no need to wait to start implementing your vision of work-life balance.
Sure, Thanksgiving and the rest of the holiday season can be a chaotic time of year with decorating, cooking, visiting or hosting, attending parties, shopping for gifts…you get the idea. That’s why it’s vital that amidst all of this holiday hoopla you’ll partake in when you leave the office, you set aside some time for yourself.
Let your colleagues know that you’ll be offline on Thanksgiving. Put your phone down for two hours (or more!) and experience being fully present during the feasting on Thanksgiving. Better yet, experience waking up the next morning having survived not working for one evening, or for a full day…or the entire weekend! It’s more than possible. You can do it!
For the complete guide to a half-day staycation, a four-week vacation, or simply enjoying a holiday weekend, check out The Great Escape: A Vacation Planner for Busy People Who Want to Take a Real Break from Work & Life.
