We Weren’t Made to Break…

Work is vital to human existence. However, working without striking proper life balance could be threatening to our well-being, career, relationships and even destiny. Hence, it is expedient to address the subject of attaining the required balance.

Work-Life Balance is essential regardless of whether you are a business owner or an employee; and irrespective of your level on the career ladder or in the actualization of your life’s dreams and aspirations.

..3. for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.
Rev.4:11 (KJV)

This is because though God mandated man to work, He did not make man for stress, but for (His) pleasure, i.e. to live for and fulfil His pleasure fundamentally. Hence, man is meant to work to live and not the other way around.

… though God mandated man to work, Hedid not make man for stress, but for (His) pleasure, i.e. to live for and fulfil His pleasure fundamentally. @funmie_adebayo @eachdayonline
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In other words, there should be room enough for anyone to work, and afterwards live, have fun, and have time for fellowship with the Creator and the rest of the creation!

Bertrand Russell, a 20th Century British philosopher and logician once said, “One of the symptoms of an approaching nervous breakdown is the belief that one’s work is terribly important.” Funny, but it is that serious!

“One of the symptoms of an approaching nervous breakdown is the belief that one’s work is terribly important.”Bertrand Russell @funmie_adebayo @eachdayonline
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Going by that mindset, the concept of Work must never be blown out of proportion!

So, if you find your present occupation so ‘demanding’ that you hardly have any time left to think, plan, dream; time for your talents, relationships, recreation and most essentially, time for God; if your livelihood leaves you reactive to life more often than not, such that you’re always firefighting and panting for breath, then you are definitely overworked.

If your livelihood leaves you reactive to life more often than not, such that you’re always firefighting and panting for breath, then you are definitely overworked. @funmie_adebayo @eachdayonline
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If that is the case, then you sure need to make an adjustment. Here are some recommendations that work:

1. Close from work at the set time, and put off all work related issues till the next day. Even if you’re a business owner or a freelancer, define specific work hours and by all means, stick to it.

2. (Likewise) Stop attending to personal issues during work hours, as much as possible. If you keep to this rule, you won’t have to keep attending to work after close of business. It’s like karma.

3. Delegate tasks that do not need your expertise, that is, if any other person can tackle any task well enough, you may as well allow them.

4. Apply Pareto Principle and stop sweating the small stuff. Pareto Principle states that, for many events, roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes (Wikipedia). Going by that rule, on a plain sheet of paper, or with a note taking tool on your mobile device, categorize everything that demands your attention on the 80-20 scale, i.e. into ‘trivial many’ and ‘vital few’. Let that yardstick guide your decisions and priorities going forward.

Read on Each Day Online.

This article was culled from the revised edition of Getting Your Groove Back by Funmi Adebayo, due for release soon.

Credits: Featured Image Photo by Keira Burton from Pexels