Creating a Quick Design for Your Ideal Balanced Lifestyle
First, find overall balance in your Key Life Areas.
▪ Personal: mission statement, goals, and action steps
▪ Health: good nutrition, exercise, and wellness
▪ Financial: Budget, pay off debts, invest
▪ Career: research careers, improve work segments, find related jobs
▪ Social: connect with people with similar interests, maintain meaningful relationships
How you can quickly structure your time with a balanced lifestyle, depending on the importance and priority you place on each Key Life Area:
Personal
Your day starts with your personal approach and attitude. Reviewing your mission statement, goals, and action steps in the morning can help you get on the right track from the get-go, and only takes a minute. They can help you get motivated and prioritize your day.
Health
Making sure you have healthy good-tasting meals can take some planning. You can make a grocery list to shop for your food at the beginning of the week, and then prepare meals and save them for later.
Set up a time that you can exercise for at least thirty minutes each day, whether early in the morning, on your lunch break, or after dinner, by working out, going for a walk or run, and/or doing full body movements like yoga or Pilates.
Financial
Begin by creating and reviewing your budget at the beginning of the month. If you are dissatisfied with it, try boosting your income with a small business, side hustle, or certification.
Find time at night or on the weekends to handle your finances. Try to pay off your credit cards, leaving only small balances on them, to maintain good credit. Review your short, medium, and long-term financial goals, and periodically make sure your investments are appropriate and on track.
Career
For a lot of people, their career or job takes up a good part of their time. It is important to find the right type of work that you find purposeful and fulfilling.
If you are just starting out, this can take the form of taking occupation assessments such as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and the Holland Code Test. These assessments can help a person better understand themselves, their interests, as well as their strengths and weaknesses as they relate to the type of work they might find enjoyable and capable of. Then, find an occupation that best suits you and your skills and interests, among other important factors.
For someone dissatisfied in their current job, it can help to think about your past work and experiences that you found fulfilling. In the morning, evening, or weekend, do research to find the type or types of careers or jobs that might encompass those. Try finding ways to enter that field, possibly through education, certifications, or volunteering.
To get a better idea of what the work might be like, try talking with people in similar work positions, to find out what their typical day is like. Then, make a realistic plan to transition into that field, using the five career segments listed in the Career Key Life Area on this website, and the career or job you would find fulfilling.
Social
For many people, their social life might seem like the simplest to incorporate. However, if not prioritized, it can fall by the wayside, and leave someone feeling lonely and out of balance. A simple solution for this problem is to make your social life a priority in your work/life balance.
Make sure to spend quality time with your family, whether at breakfast, lunch, or dinner, and/or the weekend. Schedule times to meet with friends for coffee or lunch on the weekend. Make time to call people you care about on a regular basis. Go to evening and/or weekend classes to meet people with similar interests.
Creating the balanced lifestyle that you want may take some planning and effort, but it is attainable. Make sure that you prioritize your Key Life Areas, and you can find that you will benefit with your fulfillment and overall well-being.