What is Work/Life Balance
Everybody talks about it, everybody wants it and everybody needs it, but what is it?
If you’re toppling over with work commitments and not feeling ‘balanced’, then your work hours, personal hours and sleep hours aren’t at that roughly balanced ‘8 for each’. Yup. 8 hours of sleep, 8 hours of work, 8 hours of personal time. It can sound a little dictatorial and restrictive on what you want to do, but it’s a great place to start – in theory.
If you find 8 hours of sleep difficult to come by or know your own body needs more or less than that (as everyone is different) that’s fine, you just have to look at the hours left and balance them with each other. This harmony will benefit your body and mind, your relationships with others and help achieve goals in both areas.
A daily routine, boosted activity and sense of purpose are all great outcomes from work, regardless of your industry. If you now work from home you may be experiencing less of a sense of community and have fewer or not as close relationships to colleagues – this is something you can transfer across into your personal hours to keep the balance.
Poor Work/Life Balance
Here’s a shocker for you: too much of a good thing can be the same as too much of a bad thing. Even if you LOVE your job, if you’re at it 80 hours a week then your balance is going to be all out. You’re either not getting enough sleep for your mind and body to work at its best or you’re not making time for personal pursuits or play. A bigger problem is if you’re doing 80 hours and HATE your job. It’ll cause you stress and complete dissatisfaction with your day-to-day.
A little reward for effort in both areas of work and life goes a long way. Driving yourself into the ground will do just that: you’ve only got so much ‘GO GO GO’ before you’re gone.
The word I’m hearing more and more from friends, family and colleagues is: Burnout. Burnout is emotional (and physical) exhaustion coupled with a feeling of detachment from work, life and relationships. If you end up just going through the motions of your day, you may be suffering from burnout and need to make some changes. Some things to do is talk to your workplace, your family or your doctor. You can also look at how you’re balancing your work/life/sleep 8 hour blocks and if there’s harmony, or if some tweaks need to be made.
How Can Bouldering Balance You?
Your personal time is precious, and everyone will use these hours differently. So we have reached the crux of the article: Can Bouldering bring a bit of balance? Well, yes of course! Adding physical exercise to your personal time is crucial. Doing exercise which also engages your critical thinking and creativity is a great way to maximise the benefit to your mind, body and hopefully relationships, as it’s a great way to spend time with friends and family.
For some, using bouldering as a harmoniser to their work/life balance is a passion and priority, for others it’s an interest. Regardless of where you fall, adding something like bouldering into the time that is most valued and coveted is a great way to have active time, down time and social time all at the same time!
A Night Off
We’ve started running Industry Nights on Mondays for everyone living and working in the Boulder Project area (3141 and 3142). We recognise finding time which can be used to boost confidence, health and happiness that is also a form of ‘down-time’ can be so tricky, especially if you’re shift working or working long hours. So come on in to Boulder Project every Monday night, get a cheap climb, free shoe hire and a good time!
Sara Best
Working, playing, sleeping: balanced.