Life-Work Balance or Work-Life Balance?

This article is part of the Young Restorer's Column in which members of RIA's Young Professional Restorer's Community share their take on various topics impacting the restoration industry.

As I sit here pondering how I balance life and work in my mind, I see a massive school of fish swimming in the ocean. This is not your ordinary school of fish. We are not talking one fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish. We are talking about the most distracting mass of fish, hundreds of thousands of fish. Fish that are more colors than the largest Crayola assortment you have ever dreamed of. Anyone who knows me will tell you I am full of ideas and wonderment about the possibilities life has to offer, and that swarms of fish are swimming around in my brain all day, every day, alive with possibility. I viscerally crave new exciting things. Just picture me as you would see Willy Wonka. The passion is there; I can feel it pumping through my veins.

This begs the million-dollar question: Willy, what do you want in life? You have so many crazy ideas and desires!

If this sounds familiar to you, I feel better already. Maybe it’s not just me.

Do you live to work or do you work to live? I am a lucky individual who loves my work, and I can find it hard to balance my work life with my personal life. I’ve found that in order to find balance between the two, whether you like your job or not, you have to prioritize. Are you aware of what your intentions are in life and at work? As soon as this is defined, you are beginning to live your life with purpose. You now have strategy and focus. Remember there are all those flashy fish you can see swimming around out there — a constant source of distraction. Once you have defined your intentions in work and life, you know which fish to focus on.

The next question you need to ask is, “How am I setting up my daily activities in alignment with what goals I want to achieve in life and at work? And what are my tactical next steps?”

As soon as you’ve honed in on this, you need to determine the No. 1 thing to accomplish on your to-do list that will get you closer to achieving your goal. Hint: This is typically the thing you are resisting the most but you know you need to do it. Don’t forget you’re talking about your life here — your happiness and satisfaction. Alternately, it can also be the thing you fear the most. Why do we resist tackling the one thing that’s standing between us and our goals? Are we afraid of failure or are we afraid of winning? Once you’ve completed this first task on your list, all you need to do is determine the next most important thing. Really, it is that simple. Or is it?

I oftentimes set out with the best intentions and then BAM! — that blur of colorful fish can really set me off course. In the world today with all the bombardment we get from emails, social media, family life, insurance renewals and team members, it’s easy to zone out, get distracted or lose your direction. What I’ve found is that’s the most comfortable place to be, avoiding the really big, scary or boring things that actually have the largest impact on the goals we want to accomplish. However, if you take the time to really get in tune with your true desires and focus on that spark, you will find the balance you need to achieve something truly great.