Being cognizant of our unique version of balance is an often overlooked element that’s key to navigating our busiest seasons!
In the recent post Breaking Down Burnout, we considered that burnout is caused by a combination of internal and external factors, plus extreme imbalance, drawn out over time without a chance for recovery.
In this post, I want to explore the importance of understanding and applying our notion of balance in minimizing burnout.
Sounds both obvious and frustratingly unattainable, I know! But just because our external demands are challenging our balance doesn’t mean we have to throw out the concept altogether.
We’re going to use our unique work-life balance as a goalpost. Then we’ll incorporate the right balancing activities to keep us in the driver’s seat when things get busy.
We’re not looking for perfection so much as steps in the right direction.
Finding Balance When You’re Busy – An Overlooked Concept
When we’re talking about very busy seasons of work, the whole “work-life balance” concept is tossed out the window. We don’t have time for it! Isn’t that the whole point of being busy?
Well, sort of.
When we’re unusually busy, we’ll have to tolerate some degree imbalance. We just don’t want to let it become extreme.
We also don’t want to force ourselves into a rigid notion of what balance is. I’m not concerned about the number of hours devoted to one thing or another being in “balance”. I also don’t want to hold myself to a rigid schedule incorporating all of my “balancing” activities each week.
Instead, I care about feeling balanced, and specifically, what I can do to swing the pendulum back toward it.
(Focusing on the feeling was a topic I wrote more about last year in this post on finding work-life balance).
So when things get busy, I’m not looking for a perfectly balanced schedule. I’m accepting the chaos, sensing where things are starting to feel too off-course, and giving a little nudge back in the right direction.
But First – A Baseline Level of Balance
It’s important to find a sense of balance before things get too busy. That way, you’ll know what balance feels like for you, and you’ll know what works.
To feel balanced, we need to intentionally make space each week for things like socializing, meaningful personal projects, exercise, a healthy diet, and proper rest (including sleep). But when your schedule is jam-packed, it’s hard to fit it all in with the same consistency.
The solution is to identify which of these would be the most impactful to you at this moment, and aim to integrate it into your schedule.
If you already know what works, then you’ll know exactly what you need to focus on to maintain a sense of balance!
Pinpointing What You Need to Feel Balanced
In last year’s post on work-life balance, we touched on a few key factors that you need in order to feel balanced:
- A degree of autonomy
- The feeling of fulfillment and satisfaction
- Authenticity
It’s really easy to lose your sense of these things when you’re busy and externally-focused, though. Because we aren’t paying attention, we’ll often find ourselves feeling stretched and out of balance, but we can’t pinpoint why.
All we know is that we need to pull back from work. So maybe we need to drop some commitments, or we just need to Netflix-and-chill for an evening.
If you can check in on these three areas though, you might find that you actually need to add things to your week to feel more balanced!
There are many ways that you can add more autonomy, accomplishment and authenticity into your work week. For the sake of efficiency though, I will give you one thing you can do that covers all three at the same time!
What is it, exactly? I’ll give you two guesses, and if you’re familiar with this blog then the first one doesn’t count:
Make time for your creative practice.
We so easily forget that 3 hours of work where you are feeling good and energized is far better than 5 hours of work in a depleted state. So, use the extra couple of hours to bring back a sense of autonomy, accomplishment, and authenticity through creative self-expression. Bonus points if you already had a meaningful personal project on the go!
We talk more about this concept of feeling less overwhelmed by adding more in this post about Overcoming Overwhelm.
Parting Words
You’re bound to feel out of balance when you’re super busy! The key is not to let it get extreme. Use your understanding of what creates balance for you to tip the scales back in your favour any time you start to feel out of balance!
Make sure you’re not missing the basics (exercise, proper rest, and so-on). But then think about your current levels of autonomy, accomplishment, and authenticity. If these are out of whack, the one thing that can really swing the pendulum back to balance is engaging in your creative practice! While it might seem frivolous when you’re stretched, it’s really an effective and strategic way to keep your energy levels up, to avoid extreme imbalance, and to minimize burnout.
Looking for ways to stay resilient and creative in your busiest seasons? Check out The Busy Season Survival Guide, a 5-part series that takes you from preparation through the chaos and to recovery without losing yourself in the process!
