The definition of balance is a state of equilibrium or equipoise. In this case, the equilibrium we are referring to is a personal and professional balance centered around meaning. For Marketing professionals to achieve balance, satisfaction, engagement, and passion professionally, they must have balance, satisfaction, engagement, peace, and passion personally. Organizational effectiveness can help everyone achieve this balance.

Personal and Professional Balance

Having a work/life balance means prioritizing your professional and personal life around things that are important to you. When a work/life balance is missing from life, in most cases, so is the mission of what to balance their work/life around. So many Marketing professionals I speak to are so wrapped up in doing what they need to do professionally for their business, they forget that their personal life is happening at the same time.

“Life happens when you are busy making other plans.” John Lennon

No one understands work/life balance until they realize what it means on an individual level. Achieving a work/life balance allows for a more productive, creative mindset. When you realize having a work/life balance can actually help you spend more time with your family, travel more, feel healthier, have more energy, and have more abundance, you become more intrigued about attaining it. When this is achieved, more of life’s puzzle pieces fit together and you show up at your business ready to offer your talents most effectively.

There are many different areas of life to consider in addition to your business. There are relationships, finances, health, body, spirituality, and other personal development areas. The impacts of these outside influences can affect your work life as much as they can your personal life. A brain that is sleep deprived and nutrition deprived does not operate optimally. It is essential for your health and the health of your relationships that you work on a professional and personal balance through organizational effectiveness.

Finding the Balance

Take a quick assessment of how much time you spend at your business and how much time you spend on other topics that ultimately help you be more efficient. Take into consideration how much time you spend with family or friends. Life is a balancing act. When there is too much work and no play, work becomes too much like a chore and creativity is lost, and passion for your product may go missing. When there is too much play and no work, work doesn’t get completed, and the bottom line suffers.

• Do you spend the appropriate amount of time at work so you are fulfilled in your business? Many owners worry about sales slipping off, or clients potentially leaving because the deliverables are off. The day to day reactions take over from the vision you started the agency with. If you struggle with this, what would be an appropriate amount of time at work?
• Do you start at a consistent time, finish after working a legitimate, predetermined time? Many owners wake up early to “steer the ship” and go about your daily work…and after dinner with the family, end up working until their head hits the pillow ready to go again the next day. If you struggle with this, what could be a reasonable start time and or bed time so you get adequate sleep?
• Do you make time for yourself by doing exercise three to five days a week? Many owners forgo working out to get an earlier, undisturbed time to work in the business and can go weeks not working out. If you struggle with this, where could you carve out 10-15 minutes to do simple exercises to build back that muscle?
• Do you spend time going out to dinner with friends and family? Many owners personal relationships suffer while working “pillow to pillow” working early hours the whole way to bed time. If you struggle with this, how can you schedule time on your calendar for friend gatherings to stay connected with other couples?
• Do you take the time to recharge and grow by taking vacation time to explore or be with your family? Many owners take vacation times at a point of exhaustion and end up getting sick while on vacation or come back and get sick as they return to their hectic schedule. If you struggle with this, when was the last time you scheduled a day off so you could recharge, nothing special planned…maybe you could read, go to your favorite place in town?

Start Soon

When you went through the questions, which one stood out to you?  What simple step could you take to make that ONE a priority? I invite you to focus on ONE priority, at a time to find a balance that is sustainable over time.

Next steps

If you want to work on finding a better balance and aren’t quite sure how productivity can align with organizational effectiveness in your company, learn about how to set up new habits by clicking the Get Started button below.

Remember, you are changing deeply embedded habits so be gentle with yourself. Don’t beat yourself up…achievers tend to do that very well. Instead, take an honest assessment and allow your high achiever to support your goal to make the ONE priority happen.

There are 168 hours in a week, balance them out one at a time so the elements outside of work become as important as the elements inside of work. Both will work and balance to help you be creative, refreshed, and willing to tackle new responsibilities.