Somedays there is nothing better than curling up under the covers with a good book, a furry dog, and a glass of hot chocolate, but there’s also something to be said for being busy and for having tasks that give you a sense of purpose and a feeling that you’re contributing to something bigger than yourself. The trick is to find that perfect level of balance between so many tasks you can’t think straight and so little to do that you’re dying of boredom.
Back in the days when my friends were warning me that I really needed to find balance in my life or I was going to self destruct, I thought there was some perfect level of busy that would bring my life back into balance. Sadly, I’ve found that life isn’t always like an algebra problem where if you apply the perfect formula and know all the variables, you’ll get the right answer. Life’s a little more like art where what worked yesterday might not work today.
Finding balance in one’s life is learning to appreciate the ebb and flow of life. The level of busy that feels right today might not feel right tomorrow. For instance, over the Christmas holiday, I was pretty much a slug as I spent some time each day cleaning house, but mostly I read books, slept, spent time with my family, and generally recharged my batteries. I thought about working a few times over break, but mostly the feeling passed and I went back to being a vacationing slug. However, now that I’m back at work, I’m feeling the the urge to dance to a different rythm, one of working 8 to 9 hours a day and then spending time with my family.
In years past, I would have kicked myself for kicking back over the holidays and relaxing when I could have been so much further ahead if I would have put my nose to the grindstone and short changed my family and myself in the interest of work. However, after the tough lessons of the past year especially the one that companies don’t really care about how much you sacrifice, I’ve realized that I need to make sure to take care of myself and my family because if I don’t, no one else will look out for us.
The really interesting thing about work is that it does expand or contract to fill the available time. Sure, working over the holidays might have meant I finished some tasks a little earlier, but taking the time to relax and recharge means that I’m looking at things with a fresh perspective and the tasks are taking less time because my batteries are recharged.
The one lesson I’ve learned over the past year is that work will always be there, but the important things don’t aways wait for you to finish your work. I’ve learned to seize the time away from work as my time. That doesn’t mean that when duty calls, I won’t work the 14 hour days to push a project over the finish line, but it does mean that after we’re over the finish line, I’ll take some time to kick back relax and recharge.
Cairn by Cairn 
