Dear College of Education Community,
This week we celebrate Labor Day and the dedicated work that we all engage in. This is also a good time to reflect on our work-life balance in relation to our professional lives. Work-life balance is “bringing things into harmony. It’s not something that you can get, but something that you continually do,” according to Gustavo Razzetti, who is author of “The best way to find balance in your life” in a Psychology Today article. “Balance is not a destination, but a constant journey. You might feel out of balance from time to time, and that’s okay. Don’t approach it with a perfectionist mentality; accept the good enough.” This article offers the following 5 ways to find balance.
- Integrate all aspects of your life: Stop seeing work, personal time, and social times as separate compartments. Rather than competing against each other, they should collaborate. Removing this imaginary wall will release a lot of tension. Integrate all aspects by applying learnings across them all.
- Lose balance to find balance: Letting go of control is key to letting things fall into place on their own. Sometimes you have to lose balance to find it. Be open to taking risks. Try something different. Seek balance in the long-term, not every instance in life.
- Prioritize your activities: Knowing what matters is the first step. Finding balance requires saying no to something else so you can do what you want. Most of the time, we blame others, but we are the ones that are not making a choice. Let go of unnecessary tasks, ask for help, be open to adjusting your goals and priorities.
- Develop a balanced mindset: Balance is not something external; it lies within you. When something is bothering you, ask yourself: Why? An out-of-balance context can definitely affect you, but training your mind can neutralize part of the noise. Balance is a state of mind, not a productivity hack.
- Practice journaling: Set some time to reflect. Track how you spend your time — identify the tensions and make the necessary adjustments. Journaling is also a great way to capture everything good that happens in life. Acknowledging all the positive things that occurred throughout your day, will make you feel grateful rather than stressing out.
This article concludes by stating that “the best way to find balance is to let go of our need to be in control.”
For a list of other self-care options, you can also go to our COE self-care website for resources for faculty, staff, students, and the community at
https://www.csun.edu/eisner-education/self-care
May we all strive for work-life balance!
Warmly,
Shari