My experiences and thoughts…
The Chaos Of Life
Questions I’ve been asking myself lately.
Do we really make time for ourselves and our families? I mean quality, purposeful and meaningful time.
Are we working to live or living to work?
How are we meant to be productive and effective if the balance isn’t right?
Thoughts…
We all live in a very busy, fast paced world where we are becoming more susceptible to stress, fatigue and discontentment. Gone are the days where shops would shut on a Sunday and we would have more time to rest with families, friends or do something which gave us
genuine happiness.
The world and future is all about technology and we have the world at our finger tips, devices and tech which we all use in our daily lives is readily available, whenever we want it. Its so easy to pick up a laptop, have a meeting, just send a few emails, but when do we stop?
Are we actually resting, switching off, is our work affecting our lives?
Me Time
We all have pockets of time throughout the day or week where we might have the ability to take a relaxing bath or go to the gym to have an hour to
ourselves. Do we take it? And is this enough?
I am a full time working mum of three with my career at the heart of all I do, since the pandemic I like many others mainly work from home. I think this has changed our perception of work and home life. Don’t get me wrong, it’s great, I’m able to do the school run, go to children’s activities while being productive, but I don’t think we leave work at work.It’s now a mix of work while we live.
Me time doesn’t really exist, I’ve realised that I never have any quality time for myself. I often find myself on an evening catching up on emails as I am usually in back to back meetings throughout the day. This means that I will often miss out on the bath-time & bedtime routine which is an important part of our children’s day. Some weekends I catch up on work due to deadlines.
My time is spent either working because I can or helping others. We need to get the balance right.
Time to Reflect
The other day I had a meeting scheduled for 10am. I dropped the children to school as
usual and was about to head home to do the usual household chores, before preparing for my busy day ahead. It was a nice sunny day so I decided to take myself to the local park.
I had a nice steady walk around the lake which allowed me to clock up some steps, the sun was shining, the birds singing, I really could appreciate the beauty around me. I feel this is often missed due to the busy lifestyle which I and others lead. I took some time to reflect on my work life balance and whether I have it or not.
It gave me the reality check I needed, I love my work don’t get me wrong but I love me
too, my family & friends and I need to ensure I have protected time for my physical & mental wellbeing.
Taking a Break
More often than not I work the school holidays, however, I was fortunate enough to meet all my deadlines and projects before the Easter holidays arrived. For once I got to spend the whole two weeks with my family where I didn’t have to worry about meetings, assignments or deadlines.
This was a very refreshing change for me and I got to enjoy the break. I took some time for myself, to fully recharge so that I was ready to go again. I got to make precious memories with my family and friends and I got to take in what was going on around me, without the usual rushing or being distracted. I took a break, sat back and soaked up what was going on. I noticed all the important things in my life. I will be making more of a conscious effort to ensure I have an more appropriate work life balance.
Now, I put the laptop away, turn off the notifications and enjoy the balance I have created. Sometimes you just need to…
Take the break, take the time, take a breath.
“If you want to change the world, start with yourself.”
