“Work-Life Balance” speaks to all areas of our lives in ADDITION to work. Other areas of our lives are not only LIMITED to personal interests, but other obligations and responsibilities such as sitting on the board of organizations, being active in your community, pouring out positive energy to many who cross your path and the list goes on.
While there are so many different aspects to life such as personal interests, family, social/leisure activities and much more additional aspects that have proven to be important to people are their children, belief systems/ministry, relationships, careers/work, education, having and managing finances/paying bills, businesses (entrepreneurship), the home space, physical appearance and so much more or less depending on the individual. The bottom line is that we all have plenty to manage in our lives and many times our priorities are frequently shifted around and each aspect of life has to “get in where it fits in!!!!”
Work-Life Balance “does not mean an equal balance” dividing and assigning the hours in a day to each area of our lives as this would be unrealistic and most likely unrewarding. Assigning an equal amount of hours to each area of your life is NOT “work-life balance.” Nevertheless, life continues every day and there is no way to be EFFECTIVE in every aspect of our life without BALANCE. Without order, structure and balance stress levels increase to an all-time high.
Chronic stress triggers health issues. According to Mayo Clinic (2019) long-term activation of the stress response system and overexposure to cortisol and other stress hormones puts an individual at risk for health problems such as anxiety, depression, digestive problems, headache, heart disease, sleep problems, weight gain and memory /concentration impairment. Have you been questioning why it is you may be experiencing feelings of sadness, anxiousness and cannot focus? Maybe it’s the way you’re operating in life. Could it be you’re overcommitting yourself to others without first acknowledging that you need to take some time to work on your “inner-self”?
“There’s no need of FINANCIALLY dropping and PHYSICALLY popping if you not SPIRITUALLY rocking,” says Ariane N. Castillo, MSN, RN, FNP-C. Balance in our overall lives is VITAL to leading a wholesome life full of fullfillment. We can accomplish extraordinary accomplishments, but if there is a lack of consistency and balance it’s in our human nature to feel as if we are failing.
How much time do you spend doing your job and/or running a business compared to the amount of time you spend with your family and/or doing the things you enjoy?
Do you truly enjoy family time or are you too weighed down with the cares of this life to be engaged and enjoy them when you’re around your loved ones? Does your family enjoy you or are they turned-off by your presence due to negative energy, lack of love and kindness toward them?
While there are multiple steps in gaining a healthy “work-life balance” there are 3 important steps to start with and are as follows:
- Identify and then set your priorities. For example, healthy eating = meal prep, children = scheduled time for family interaction and career/work = better time management to use work time effectively in order not to bring work home.
- Track your time. No matter if you track your time via pencil and paper, quick memo on your phone, electronic calendars, apps – TRACK IT!! In the world of nursing it’s called “documenting or charting” and “if it’s not charted – it’s NOT done.”
- Concentrate on one thing at a time. This may be difficult for so many to do in such a fast paced world. If you have created the habit of so-called “multi-tasking” you’ll have to become intentional in breaking that habit in order to putting this concept into its rightful place. “Multi-tasking” is created for computers NOT humans.
What are you waiting for?! It’s important to gain balance or else certain areas in our lives suffer including our HEALTH.
Let’s get started!!
From the desk of,
Ariane N. Castillo, MSN, RN, FNP-C
CEO & Founder of Self-Love the Movement
Family Nurse Practitioner & Motivational Speaker
“Journey to Self-Love”
Arianenicolespeaks.com