We’ve all struggled with the concept of “work/life balance.” It has fostered many pundits, given birth to many articles, and spawned many time-saving tips and time-management systems to make your day better. Here’s my take:
| Sleeping… | 8 |
| Getting ready for work… | 1 |
| Commuting… | 1 |
| Working… | 8 |
| Cooking/eating… | 1 |
| What’s left… | 5 |
The above table is decidedly unscientific. But you get the idea.
You may also want to consider that “what’s left” accounts for more than leisure time. For some of us, it’s the gym. For others, chores. Still others, parenting. And we can’t always “make up for it” on Saturday and Sunday, since many of us work during the weekend.
And so, we face a sobering conclusion: for about 40 years of our waking lives, we will spend the bulk of our time at work.
Balance?
I suppose so, because the numbers do, in fact, add up to 24 (most days, anyway).
But I find the whole concept of balancing work and life a bit suspect; aren’t we “living” while we’re “working?”
As working humans being*, I believe we owe it to ourselves to shift the paradigm from: balancing work with life, to: balancing the amount of life we have while we work.
I also believe we’re somewhat obliged to foster that in our working associates, our partners and vendors, the clerks at the store, the servers at the restaurants, and the average worker persons we interact with every day.
After all, aren’t we’re all in this together?
* “Humans being” is not a typo. I learned that concept in “Kitchen Table Wisdom,” an excellent book by Rachael Remen.
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