Tip of the Month: October 2006
From Mastery of Learning
Balance Your Life
When I think of all the things I learned in the course of my recent health crisis, one of the most important realizations was that my life had gotten out of balance. It is vital that you have balance in your life. You need balance between what is work and what is personal. You need balance between intense concentration, and being completely disengaged and relaxed. You also need balance between the intellectual and the physical.
If you do not balance relaxation with intense activity, you’ll be getting yourself into trouble like I did. Intense activity without periods of relaxation and recreation result in burnout and stress-related injury or illness. Complete relaxation without stress results in a lack of strength, endurance, and resilience.
It is also useful to balance intense intellectual concentration with physical activity. It keeps you mentally sharp and physically in shape. The physical break is as important as the mental concentration.
The near-death experience has shown me the importance of balancing work and “not-work.” Take the time to indulge yourself in the personal. Really take time for family, friends, and what energizes you. Find a way to consciously disengage from work at the end of the day. I don’t know of anyone who at the end of their life, looked back and regretted that they didn’t spend more time dealing with their e-mail.
I know that for myself it takes two to three hours to completely disengage from work, so that when I go to bed I am truly ready to go to sleep without thinking about what else I needed to deal with during the day. Discover what your trajectory is for completing the day.
