Work-Life Balance

By Alison Nancye www.thelifekitchen.com

If you were to live true work-life balance, you would spend one third of your day 'working', one third of your day 'living', and one third of your day 'sleeping'.

By 'work' I mean paid and unpaid work (running errands, cleaning the house, etc. as well as your paid gigs). With hours at our paid jobs on the increase, the extra time 'working' eats in to your time 'living' and 'sleeping'. But it doesn't have to eat up all your time.

Get enough sleep

One of the tried and tested methods to create a more balanced life is to 'get enough sleep'. Your optimum sleeping hours are between 11pm - 4am. So if you really want to feel rested and energised for the day ahead, beat Cinderella to the post, and get to bed at least one hour before midnight each day.

In addition to getting a good night's sleep, making time to honour your mind, body and spirit each day will speak volumes in the 'balance' department.

How to create more work-life balance

Do this easy exercise below to help you discover your way to enjoy a healthier mind, body and spirit and create more work-life balance each day.

1. On a blank piece of paper, create three columns or sections with the headings 1. Mind, 2. Body, 3. Spirit.

2. Underneath each heading, list three ways (or more) you could create a healthier mind, body and spirit. Include things you can let go of or add to the mix. For example, turning your computer off by at least 10pm each night will allow you to let go and have a good hour to unwind if you want to get to bed before 11pm. Adding lavender drops to your evening shower or on your pillow will help chill your mind. 'Body' would be things like eating foods that make you feel good (be real as you know what agrees with you and what doesn't), and exercising in a way that you enjoy (even dancing to a song each day is a great way to unwind and get exercise). 'Spirit' is whatever it means to you - things that you make your heart sing, feed your soul and make you feel good.

3. Put a circle around one item in each of the mind, body, spirit categories that you would like to start this week or month.

4. Now get started! Remember the only person who can give you permission to spend your time the way you would love is YOU. You create your schedule, so it's you who creates your own work-life balance.