When you’re in balance, you’re functioning in your most resourceful state. This means that being in balance is important – but how do you know if you have it? Let’s explore what balance is, how to recognise it, and how to maintain it all year round.

The Work-Life Conundrum

When you think of balance, you probably think of “work-life balance”. It’s often assumed that when work-life balance goes out of kilter, it’s work’s fault. Work can certainly be the main factor if it is starting to dominate your time, leaving you unable to fully participate at home. However, it’s important to remember that home life can be just as capable of throwing you off balance.

Perhaps you have recently relocated and the task of sorting out your living arrangements is dominating your thoughts. Maybe your first child has arrived and you are feeling overwhelmed. Sudden or significant changes at home can make it harder to focus at work, and we can find our productivity dropping.

So, what can be done? The first step towards maintaining better balance is to recognise when you are out of it.

Recognising the Signs

When you’re out of balance, feeling unsettled is a key sign. The feeling of being distracted becomes common and it’s hard to concentrate. Your productivity, your morale and your motivation can feel harder to muster.

This is usually because something in your life has taken your main focus, and all the other balls you usually juggle have found themselves on the floor.

In our day-to-day lives, we all have things which crop up and which require our short-term attention. These issues leap into the foreground, waving their hands, and demanding to be dealt with immediately. Often, we do so swiftly, shifting our focus for a short time and then returning to our middle ground.  At other times, however, we can find ourselves spending a disproportionate amount of time on one issue… and the rest of our lives do not stop to wait while we do so.

After spending so much time on one focus, you return to view what has happened to everything else you have neglected, and the outlook is messy. All of the plates you usually keep spinning are not how you left them – some are spinning slower, some are wobbling, and some have dropped entirely.

Finding Better Balance

How do you build habits which support you in maintaining balance, rather than leaving you to pick up the pieces and rebuild it every time?

A great place to start is by being intentional with what you take on. As you say “Yes” to opportunities in excitement, or from obligation, the important step is to think about what capacity you truly have to complete them.

For example, you might want to set yourself a goal such as running the London Marathon. Crossing the finish line is the part you are mainly thinking about and having such a direct focus is part of what will help you succeed. However, this goal is one which will require months of training in the lead-up to that final moment. There will be physical demands and nutritional changes, all of which will impact your time and outlook. In taking on the goal, you need to think through the full spectrum of the impact it will have – and decide if you have space for it.

It’s important to have compelling goals. They keep us motivated and looking forward. However, we also need to ask ourselves how we’re going to maintain the appropriate level of attention to the other areas of our lives while we do them.

Balance is Dynamic

Balance is not a static state. It’s a dynamic one.

Imagine balancing on one leg. Notice what is going on in your supporting ankle. While you may be serene up at the top, still upright and not falling over, the ankle is constantly making adjustments to maintain your balance. From a distance, you might look as if you are still, but up close it is clear the ankle is actively working to keep you level – it is in a dynamic state.

Your life balance is the same. You might give the impression that you’re travelling in a nice, neat, straight line, but the reality is you’re making lots of little corrections as you go.

Knowing what balance looks like for you, individually, gives you permission to say “No” to things that will take you out of balance. Your version of balance does not need to look the same as anyone else’s and it will constantly be updating.

So, let’s find out what balance is for you.

Defining Your Dynamic State

Take a look at the list below and think about each area of balance. What does your ideal version of satisfaction for each one look like?

Give each a score out of 10 for where you would like to be:

  • Mentally – how mentally strong or under pressure do you feel?
  • Emotionally – how do you feel? Happy, sad, angry…?
  • Physical – how do you feel in your body?
  • Financial/Career/Material – are you feeling fulfilled?
  • Socially – how are your connections with others?
  • Spiritually – (in whichever way this means to you) how is your mental peace of mind?

After you’ve scored your ideal balance levels, go through the exercise again. This time, score each area in relation to how you currently feel.

Now compare your scores. Are they roughly similar or radically different? Remember, this is purely a snapshot of where you are right now and where you’d like to be. Your snapshot will change day-to-day as you constantly make adjustments (often without even knowing you’re making them), so keep checking in with yourself.

I’d love to know how you get on with this exercise. Share your scores with me, and if you’d like to explore more about them, let’s book in for a chat.