Work/Life Balance is a Myth!

Speaking notes:

How are you doing with your work/life balance?

51% of workers say they have missed important life events because of work commitments.

40% of employees say they use their personal devices for work purposes after business hours. 

70% of employees will read their emails while watching television at home.

60% of Americans say they have poor work-life balance mostly due to a lack of boundaries between work and home life.

On average, employees take 26% of their work back home to complete during their personal time.

Small business owners – work almost twice as much as employees.

Work/life balance sounds like a big deal. Most need to do better.

But I’m here to say that work/life balance is a myth!

There is no such thing as work/life balance!

I want to talk about the myth of work/life balance.

I used to believe in work/life balance. And I believed I was terrible at it.

I’ve been self-employed for almost 30 years.

My wife and I are partners and we have no employees.

As our business grew, we ended up working all the time.

We ran for a lot of years on the edge of burnout.

And we were saved by a time-share saleswoman.

We went for a “free” weekend with some friends.

Obligated to sit through a sales presentation.

“We’re not going to buy! Right?”

She asked, “What do you like to do on vacation.”

Us: “We’re self-employed. We don’t take vacations.”

She asked, “Do you think that’s healthy?”

“I’m going to get a coffee. Do you want some?”

We talked about how the time-share would force us to plan and take time off.

We bought in. And it was a good decision.

That was the step that led me to bust the myth of work/life balance.

Think about this with me.

There is no work/life balance.

All you have is LIFE!

Work is a part of life. It’s a big part of life. But it’s not separate from life.

Part of the reason so many people feel out of balance is a mindset issue.

If work is separate from life, it’s out of your control. You don’t manage it. You are the servant. It is the master.

Worse for small business owners. Your business runs you instead of you running your business.

If you keep thinking about work/life balance, the scales will always tip in favor of work/business.

Make a mindset shift. You have your life.

It’s up to you to manage your LIFE.

Work and business is part of your life.

But if you’re working all the time, you are a poor manager.

The good news is that you don’t have to be stuck where you are.

If LIFE isn’t working out like you want you can decide to change.

For me, the big shift came when I realized that everything in my life was there because of my decisions.

And I was responsible for those decisions.

Yes, it was a hard truth to swallow. 

But I also saw I could make different decisions.

And I could head toward a life that had work and play and relationships and self-care.