How to Find the Balance Between Work and Play

Having just had a break from our working schedules I am sure I am not the only one thinking about spending more time at home and less time working!

Finding that balance can sometimes be very difficult.

I myself would like to tell you about my experience and what my thoughts are on trying to find that all important balance.

Going back sometime ago I worked full time, very long hours and with two hours travelling to deal with for twenty years.

I had a young family at the time all at home and demanding every ounce of my energy.

My career kept me going it was what I wanted to do at the time. I wanted to prove to myself that I was able to be independent and that I could make a difference.

This I did. Until, one day I had to deal with my job and unforeseen circumstances in my home life which really upset me and the balance of the whole family.

I continued with my career until I had to make that all important decision to leave as I could not find that work life balance when disaster struck.

The saying goes family comes first. When you are career minded I do think however you look at the bigger picture and you have to try to see yourself without the career if it is not mentally possible to cope with the situation that you have been presented with in your home life.

Building a career and achieving your goals does not come easily for most and working hard is paramount to get what you want from that job role.

That said, when all is said and done and the decision is made generally it is true, family does come first and if the work life balance is not in place, something has to give.

Once you have finally made that decision to spend more time with your family you need to act on the decision.

It is no good saying I am going to spend more time with my family only to go back to work and get set in the old ways of putting in all the hours god sent and returning home to find dinner has been done, the family are ready for bed and so are you, quality time has already gone and cannot be brought back.

I was fortunate because I did not make the decision on my own to leave my career. I talked it through with my family who new that I had no choice but to move on.

In hindsight maybe if I had spoken to my employers at the time they may have reduced my hours or even put me into a different role. My situation was that I did not want to do another job and I was exhausted from trying to achieve the goals that I had in place before the disaster hit in both home and my work life and changing roles would not have helped the situation.

I am sure that some of you have heard of the saying 'the grass is greener on the other side'.

Well all I can say is make sure that you have looked at all of the options that you have if you are unable to come to some agreement with your employers on achieving a better work life balance before leaving the job. Jobs are not easy to come by at the moment and unless you have a little pot to rely on it is not easy to stay above board.

I have found that finding a job with less hours has suited me, however, that said this may not be the ideal situation for a lot of other people. Salaries are the main issues here as this was where the impact came for me when I left my career and decreased my hours and took a less paid role in a different business.

If it is possible to speak to the business you are working for and maybe discuss flexi hours this could be an option to improve the work life balance.

Being open with your family and letting them know that you wish to spend more time having fun than working will only prove to be beneficial if they can be open minded and listen to the demands that you are facing from both sides of the fence.

Reaching the decision you are going to take to gain that work life balance is once achieved absolutely wonderful.

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