{"id":53649,"date":"2022-06-13T02:31:27","date_gmt":"2022-06-13T07:31:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/?p=53649"},"modified":"2022-10-10T09:21:56","modified_gmt":"2022-10-10T14:21:56","slug":"the-whole-life-impact-of-work-life-balance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/the-whole-life-impact-of-work-life-balance\/","title":{"rendered":"The Whole-Life Impact of Work-Life Balance"},"content":{"rendered":"

High achievers have a bad habit of working too much. It\u2019s no secret. In fact, in a <\/span>survey<\/span><\/a> we recently conducted of more than 200 <\/span>Full Focus Planner<\/span><\/a> users, more than half said they work more than 50 hours a week even though only 18% said their employers expected them to log those kinds of hours.<\/span><\/p>\n

The inner drive to work hard isn\u2019t bad. I love to achieve. Writing content, creating new tools, and delivering practical presentations boosts my sense of contribution. Maybe you\u2019ve experienced something similar. It\u2019s satisfying to know the world is different because you showed up to work today.<\/span><\/p>\n

But, if we\u2019re not careful, our desire to contribute at work comes at a cost to the rest of our lives. Often, it\u2019s a cost paid by the people who matter most to us.<\/span><\/p>\n

As we\u2019ll see, work-life balance can be elusive. We\u2019ve never quite arrived. But it\u2019s not complicated. Grasping it requires understanding three simple truths.<\/span><\/p>\n

Truth 1: Work-Life Balance Is Distributive<\/span><\/h4>\n

Every part of your life is interconnected. Your work, your family, your health\u2014every domain touches every other domain. I learned this truth the hard way.<\/span><\/p>\n

Early in my career, I was determined to work harder than all my colleagues. I was the first to arrive and the last to leave. I said yes and did whatever was necessary to deliver outstanding results. And my effort paid off. I was promoted and offered opportunity after opportunity.<\/span><\/p>\n

I had plenty of reasons to fuel my ambition at work. Financial obligations were building at home. We had five daughters within ten years, and I wanted to provide everything my family needed. And then, of course, there was the work itself. I loved helping people. I loved leading my team. It was inspiring to see what we could accomplish together.<\/span><\/p>\n

Success was sweet. But as the hours I spent at the office began to compound, it became clear that all was not well.<\/span><\/p>\n

My body started sending up warning signals. I was getting sick more than I once did. I had a series of heart-attack scares. I ran into digestive issues and had pain in my back that wouldn\u2019t go away. The stress was taking a toll. And the damage was becoming harder to ignore.<\/span><\/p>\n

At home, my family was getting the leftovers of my time and attention. After family dinner, I was back online, responding to emails and working away on the most recent pressing project. \u201cThis is temporary,\u201d I\u2019d tell my wife, Gail. For a while, we both believed it. But \u201ctemporary\u201d instead became our new normal.<\/span><\/p>\n

It would take an emotional confrontation to help me realize my work was costing the people I loved the most. My leftovers weren\u2019t good enough. Something had to change. And the change would start with me.<\/span><\/p>\n

Truth 2: Work-Life Balance Is Determined<\/span><\/h4>\n

The change in my life would begin with a realization: balance must be caused. It doesn\u2019t just happen. It\u2019s created with intention.<\/span><\/p>\n

Creating balance begins with taking stock of what matters to you. There are several <\/span>domains<\/span><\/a> worth considering:<\/span><\/p>\n