Our colleague Jeff Dowler, the Southern California Relocation Dude, has asked us to share our experiences with our quest for work-life balance. Check out The Challenges of Work-Life Balance - Your Personal Story and join in. We all learn from each other, and someone is bound to share a tip that helps another.
I have been a licensed California REALTOR for over 20 years, but before that I started and operated a bookkeeping service for individuals and small business persons. My quest for work-life balance began in those early years, years when I was the sole support of myself and two teenage daughters. The need to earn a living was real and I am not intimidated by hard work, but soon I found myself feeling guilty if I wasn't working all the time.
One day I had an "aha" moment --- if I had a "real job" (meaning a salaried position somewhere) I would have at least two weeks of vacation, plus holidays and sick leave. I decided I would "allow" myself time off, without guilt.
That was the start of my quest for work-life balance. I had to have a plan, a written plan, to keep me on track. Over the next many years I refined and expanded that plan to include all aspects of my life.
My challenge today is finding the right blend of not working too many hours (delegating some of the marketing tasks, for instance, helps) and keeping on track with my physical fitness goals (hiking, yoga, Pilates, total body fitness classes) which all refresh and energize me, enabling me to work more efficiently and happily.
My planning begins with a yearly plan, where I schedule vacations far in advance, and then a quarterly review and plan, my "check up" and re-focus if you will. Next, I make a weekly plan and finally a daily plan.
As you can see from the sample chart below, which I call my "Weekly Accountability Tracker" my work-life balance includes my personal time, time with spouse/family/friends/neighborhood groups, education, and various aspects of my real estate life.
I enjoy working and playing hard. I cherish time with my spouse, family and friends. I must have my alone time to meditate, visualize, reflect on things for which I'm grateful, time to think, to be jubilant -- time to simply "be." It all needs to fit, to work together, for me to be happy and fulfilled.
I can see why Steffy was inspired by it. 