Finding balance is HARD and it looks different for everyone. Let’s go through the what, why, and how to find balance.
What is balance? There are 5 pillars that can help you stay organized in your life: physical, mental, social, environmental, and professional. Why should you want balance? It is very easy to put too much focus on one area of your life. When this happens, your life becomes unbalanced and it makes it hard to do day to day things.
How do you incorporate balance into your life? First, you must differentiate the “free time” and “committed time” that you have in the day. For example, if you work a 9-5 Monday through Friday with a 30 minute commute that is 9 hours of “committed time” a day and 45 hours of “committed time” a week. Again, this will look different to everyone and maybe even look different for you each day. Now, let’s aim for 7 hours of sleep each night. 7 hours of sleep + 9 hours of working “committed time” (16 hours total) leaves you with 8 more hours of “free time” left of the day. Now you get to decide what you want to prioritize. Let’s break down the 5 areas:
1. Physical health
Physical health is eating healthy, getting enough quality sleep, and moving your body.
Examples of self-care in this area: going on a walk, doing a face mask, getting a massage, or trying a new recipe.
In a world where you can get fast-food delivered to you in minutes, it is so hard to create and maintain healthy habits. Just like you wouldn’t expect your car to keep running if you stopped putting gas in it… you can’t expect your body to keep running if you don’t fuel it/ let it rest when it needs to. All the coffee in the world is still only a temporary fix.
2. Mental health
Mental health is understanding your thoughts and feelings to obtain a healthy mind-set.
Examples of self-care in this area: journaling about your feelings, writing positive self-affirmations (Click to read a comprehensive list for inspiration), meditating, reading a book, going to therapy, talking to a friend or family member, or listening to a podcast.
I get it, you grew up in a world where there was a stigma around mental health, but let go of that stigma! Pushing your emotions down is only prolonging and building a bigger explosion later on. I want you to love yourself so much and think you’re so amazing that everyone around you has no choice but to get behind you and believe that you are so amazing.
3. Social life
A quality social life is having healthy relationships with your friends, family, and romantic partner.
Examples of self-care in this area: getting coffee with a friend, planning a date night with your partner, movie night with the girls, or calling a family member on your lengthy car rides.
Who grew up and decided “adults” only see their friends a few times a year? Nuh uh! Make. them. a. priority. Call, text, FaceTime, there is no excuse with technology now. Visit them, meet in the middle, throw out an invite even if they probably can’t come. Relationships are like plants, they take work. If you neglect them, they die fast. But with a little nurturing they can last forever.
4. Environmental space
Having a healthy environment is maintaining a safe, clean, and organized living space.
Examples of self-care in this area: cleaning up your space, buying decor you’ve been eyeing, lighting a candle and putting on good music, decluttering an area you’ve been pushing off, or organizing drawers/desks/closets.
I am a firm believer that your space is a visual representation of your headspace. They go hand and hand, when your environment is a mess it’s hard to keep your head in order, and when your head is jumbled you probably don’t have time to declutter your space. Building a simple habit of cleaning for 30 minutes in the morning or at night will make all the difference. Once everything is organized and has it’s own designated spot, its easier to keep things clean.
5. Professional balance
Having professional balance is being satisfied with work-life balance and having a healthy relationship with money.
Examples of self-care in this area: creating a budget, building relationships with your co-workers, taking breaks when needed, asking for help, saying “no” when you need to, or personalizing your work area.
You work to live not live to work. There will always be more money to be made or another job to try, but you only get one life. Live it intentionally.
Final thoughts
Now that you know the different areas of balance, rate yourself in each of these categories: physical, mental, social, environmental, and professional 0-10. Where do you need improvement? What can you start doing differently? Which one can you start working on today? Is there something holding you back from living your best, balanced life?
Leave a comment of your favorite self-care activities or something you’re going to try out this week.