Lately I’ve been completely consumed by work while Yessam Pty Ltd has been setup and opened for business. There’s been no such thing as a work-life balance during this time but now I’m getting a guilty feeling inside. 

There’s a voice inside my head reminding me that I haven’t spent the time with my friends and family that I would’ve liked to or should’ve and I haven’t spent any time on myself doing something that I usually like to, such as golf or sticking to a daily exercise routine. 

This has got me thinking about a work-life balance and what it really means or should be. In the past I’ve kept work life and personal life separate and tried to have balance between them. As a manager or business owner you would know though, this rarely happens. 

I’m taking a stance from now on and just having one life where work and pleasure are combined. Under this new combined lifestyle, if I have the urge to work on a clients project at midnight because I’ve just had a brilliant idea than I can. Or, I can take a morning off, without feeling guilty, to be able to head down to the driving range or go to a doctor's appointment with my fiancé to see how our baby is going. 

Moving forward, I may work non-stop for a couple of days without a lot of family or personal time, but the people close to me will know once I’m finished they will get me with undivided attention. I would rather do this than unsuccessfully try and balance everything and have everyone I’m dealing with or close to know I’m not giving a 100% of my time or concentration. 

Here’s some key points to implementing a combined work-life balance model: 

•    Remove the guilt.

Don’t feel guilty if you’re doing something you enjoy when you’d normally be at work. You deserve to

be happy and enjoy life. 

•    Have an ideal week.

Know how you want to ideally be spending your time. Michael Hyatt has a great article and template

for this.

•    Have support.

Your family must support this model and see the benefits to them. If you have a business partner, they

must support it to.

•    Allow for flexibility. 

The whole idea of this model is to have flexibility in your life. Don’t set a structure and feel you have to

stick to it.

•    Go off instinct.

If you feel like doing something, do it then and there. You’re more likely to achieve better results and

get it done quicker.

This approach to a work-life balance won’t suit everyone, especially if you don’t have the flexibility of choosing when you can and can’t be at work. If you fall under this category, I encourage you to pick what you can from all of this and adapt it the best you can. 

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