Are you balanced in your life or just getting by?
Do you ever feel like you’re just getting by?
Each day you’re met with an ocean of responsibilities, doing your best to keep treading water.
Bills.
Work deadlines.
Family time.
Rising costs.
But you’re not alone…
Recently, I asked the question: “How would you describe your current work/life situation?”
The vast majority of responses (86% in fact) were either “just getting by” or worse.
I’ve been there too. The weight of the world is on your shoulders and you feel like you can’t catch a breath.
“Just Getting By” can happen to anyone
Back in Fall 2008, I had been working at my first job out of college for a matter of months. Then the stock market crash changed everything.
What was supposed to be a time of growth and opportunity in my early career turned into one fraught with anxiety and fear.
The Great Recession made everyone uneasy. Friends lost jobs. An entire generation of Architects was lost in the chaos.
I was happy enough just to have a job.
It was a hard time to do much of anything other than wait it out.
Same sh!t. Different day.
Today, people struggle with many of the same issues:
Rising costs
Job uncertainty
Financial anxiety
Disconnecting from work
Working towards long term goals
There are changes you can make to get control of your life back.
You don’t need to do them all at once.
You just need to start somewhere and build from there.
7 Starting Points for Managing Work/Life Balance When You're Just Getting By
Assess your situation — What is holding you down right now? Is there a pain point you’re dealing with that if you fixed it, you’d have more control of your life? Be objective and clear. Write down a list of the top 5 things you’d like to change about your current situation. Review them and pick the one that impacts you the most to work on first.
Set boundaries — One of the hardest things to do is set hard lines in the sand for your time. For someone who hasn’t set boundaries before, you can feel guilty that you’re letting someone down (e.g. your job, your family, your friends). But without boundaries, it’s like living life without taking care of the person who matters most first—you.
Create a schedule — Most people float through their weeks, months, and years without a clear idea of how they spend their time. By becoming more disciplined with the time we spend, we can gain little bits of control back into how we spend it.
Practice self-care — Self-care isn’t about bubble baths and yoga (though it can be if you need it). Self-care is about being fair to yourself and giving yourself a break when you need it. It’s about doing something now that your future self would thank you for. Get a hobby that fuels an interest. Bonus points if it gets you up and moving.
Stay organized — The chaos that causes us to feel out of balance comes from letting life get the best of us and deciding how we live. By becoming more organized, we have the opportunity to dictate where and how we spend our energy. Taking the time to meal prep for the week ahead, keeping a clean household, and prioritizing good hygiene are all ways to take back that control.
Find support — People are driven by communities. It’s in our cultures and our biology. We need support systems—friends, family, peers, clubs—to feel like we belong. If you’re struggling to find friends and support systems, try giving back to your community and joining a cause you believe in. People with a common cause have a pure commonality that they share. It’s a good start.
Stay positive — It may feel as though the world is out to get us some days in a battle we can’t win. But remember, “this too shall pass.” There will be seasons of our lives that are more difficult than others. That doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the little things now that will evolve your life into something different. Be optimistic about the future that waits for you.
Don’t tread water—swim to shore
As time passed from the start of the Great Recession things got better.
I did my best to make my life more resilient.
I laid the groundwork to get out of a tough situation and prevent it from affecting me the same way again. For me, that path was getting my Architecture license and connecting with other professionals in my community.
I realized that when I made the choice to take action, my life improved. I felt more in control of my destiny.
Your life is not in a permanent state of “getting by.”
Today it may feel like you’re trying to keep your head above water. But all you need to do is put one arm out, then another.
Soon enough you’ll be swimming towards something better.
TL;DR
Most people feel out of balance or worse
Economic uncertainty and personal pressures are often to blame
Assess your situation
Set boundaries
Create a schedule
Practice self care
Stay organized
Find support
Stay positive
Quote of the Week
Motivation for the days ahead of you.
“The first step to getting what you want is to have the courage to get rid of what you don’t.”
— Zig Ziglar
That's all for now.
Stay creative, my friends—and have a great week!
