Feeling Alive, Vibrant and Well: Bringing Balance into Your Life

by Jennifer Whitney, from the September 2006 newsletter

Part 2: Busy Jobs & Stress
Our jobs take up a significant amount of time and energy. We often feel stressed by the hustle and bustle of a full workweek. It can be easy to let our work encompass our lives without realizing it. Taking a moment to notice these imbalances will help you evaluate what needs to be done. We can start to bring balance to our work lives by asking ourselves a few simple questions: Do I feel productive at work? Am I able to accomplish all I need and want to? Do I still have energy at the end of the day to pursue other activities? If you answered "No" to any of these questions, the following suggestions may be helpful to you.

- Stop, drop and meditate. Take a few minutes before you get to work. Try sitting in the grass before entering your workplace and focus on what you want to accomplish today. Pick two or three items that stand out to you or are important to accomplish right off and have those be the goal of the day. For your type of work, it may be finding an attitude or outlook for the day that's most helpful.

- Find the time of day when your creative juices are flowing and your brainpower is at its max. This could be first thing in the morning, right after lunch, or just before you go home. Use this time to be your most productive, working with you body's natural rhythms to make significant progress and achieve major breakthroughs with the part of our work that requires us to be our sharpest.

- Notice when your body needs a break and take it; otherwise known as "Sharpening the Saw." Stephen R. Covey, in his book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, tells the story of a man working many hours to saw a tree. A second man comes along and, noticing that by now the man's saw is dull, suggests he stop and sharpen it to increase his effectiveness. The first man replies, "I don't have time to sharpen the saw, I'm too busy sawing!" Instead of working at half capacity the rest of the day and taking twice as long to accomplish anything, take a break to increase your focus and energy.

- Fit little things in the cracks of your day. Opening and dealing with mail, wiping counters, sweeping floors, returning phone calls or e-mails, putting things back in their place, etc. These things only take a minute or two if done individually, but can take up to an hour or more if done all in one go; potentially a significant part of our day. I suggest using them when you need a shift in what you are doing or when transitioning between tasks or projects. I find I get so much more done when I take the time to water and appreciate my plants when my brain needs a break, rather than when it wants to get focused on the tasks of the day. 

- Our bodies need movement in order to maintain productivity levels. Logically, we know exercise is good for us, but physically, it can be harder to grasp. If we aren't in touch with our physical self, we don't readily notice the effects exercise or the lack thereof has on us. If we can just put forth the energy and effort to exercise, it will be returned to us tenfold in the form of a healthier body, a better outlook on life, increased ability to handle stressful situations and more focus, energy and brainpower! I challenge you to try it for yourself and this time, be aware of the differences in your life.

- Is the goal of life to empty the inbox or fill our lives with peace and happiness? Richard Carlson, author of Don't Sweat the Small Stuff, reminds us that when you die, your "In Box" won't be empty. There will always be something to do. Let's not put the rest of our life on hold until we finish the things in that bottomless box.

Copyright: Copyright on articles, recipes and images are jointly held by the Moscow Food Co-op and the respective contributors, except were otherwise noted.

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