by: destiny luttrell
The idea of work-life balance can be drastically different from one person to the next. For me, work-life balance is the idea of not necessarily keeping them separate from each other completely, but understanding that I need to make time for them both. Rather than intertwining them and never breaking from one or the other, it would be focusing on work/school when I am there, and on my personal life when I leave work. Often times this isn’t completely possible though, as certain aspects of our lives will often overlap no matter how much we try to separate them. We just need to keep in mind that in order to have a “perfect” work-life balance, we need to determine how much time and energy that means we are willing to put into each area of our lives and figure out the best way to do that without taking from the other.
In order to try and achieve success with this ideal work-life balance, I would first need to define exactly what this would mean to me. Currently in my life, as a full-time college student, this is what is considered as my “work”. On the other end of the spectrum my personal life involves my sorority, my boyfriend, my friends, my family, pets, and various hobbies, etc. Often I get overwhelmed as all of these areas of my life intertwine and I cannot determine where work stops and my personal life starts. This is why I feel that a good work-life balance is important to achieve. When all of your life is combined, it starts making everything seem like work as you try to do it all, rather than being able to enjoy the things you would normally enjoy.
I plan to begin working towards achieving my ideal work-life balance by planning my days differently. Rather than just doing things at random times, I will instead set aside specific times that are designated to “work” and specific times devoted to my personal life. This way I always know when it is time to work on things that must get done, and I will also know when I have free time to just relax, spend with friends and family, or just do something fun.
This summer I will be interning at a company full-time, 40 hours a week. While it will not be during my normal routine of things I normally do, and will be in another state than family and friends, I can use this as a time to perfect my work-life balance. I will be working everyday Monday thru Friday from about 8am-5pm. This means that on weekends and evenings I will have time to spend doing things other than work. Many people often take work home with them and end up work hours at home everyday off the clock. While I believe that there are certain instances and cases where working at home or even on your own time is necessary and important, I feel that it is also important to remember to take care of yourself. The only way to really, truly take care of yourself is to keep yourself healthy (physically, mentally, etc.), whether that means taking time for yourself if you are sick, unwinding in the evenings and on weekends, and just doing things for you at times. No matter how much you love your job, if you let it take over your life too much and don’t take care of yourself and allow yourself to take breaks, then it could end up causing your body to not be capable of working. Finding the perfect work-life balance for you is the best thing you could do, and for me that means making sure that while I put my all into my job, I focus on myself, my health, and my life outside of the job as well.
In order to try and achieve success with this ideal work-life balance, I would first need to define exactly what this would mean to me. Currently in my life, as a full-time college student, this is what is considered as my “work”. On the other end of the spectrum my personal life involves my sorority, my boyfriend, my friends, my family, pets, and various hobbies, etc. Often I get overwhelmed as all of these areas of my life intertwine and I cannot determine where work stops and my personal life starts. This is why I feel that a good work-life balance is important to achieve. When all of your life is combined, it starts making everything seem like work as you try to do it all, rather than being able to enjoy the things you would normally enjoy.
I plan to begin working towards achieving my ideal work-life balance by planning my days differently. Rather than just doing things at random times, I will instead set aside specific times that are designated to “work” and specific times devoted to my personal life. This way I always know when it is time to work on things that must get done, and I will also know when I have free time to just relax, spend with friends and family, or just do something fun.
This summer I will be interning at a company full-time, 40 hours a week. While it will not be during my normal routine of things I normally do, and will be in another state than family and friends, I can use this as a time to perfect my work-life balance. I will be working everyday Monday thru Friday from about 8am-5pm. This means that on weekends and evenings I will have time to spend doing things other than work. Many people often take work home with them and end up work hours at home everyday off the clock. While I believe that there are certain instances and cases where working at home or even on your own time is necessary and important, I feel that it is also important to remember to take care of yourself. The only way to really, truly take care of yourself is to keep yourself healthy (physically, mentally, etc.), whether that means taking time for yourself if you are sick, unwinding in the evenings and on weekends, and just doing things for you at times. No matter how much you love your job, if you let it take over your life too much and don’t take care of yourself and allow yourself to take breaks, then it could end up causing your body to not be capable of working. Finding the perfect work-life balance for you is the best thing you could do, and for me that means making sure that while I put my all into my job, I focus on myself, my health, and my life outside of the job as well.