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Advice: Living a Balanced Life
- everythingnanythin9
- Jul 15, 2024
- 7 min read
Updated: Aug 13, 2024
Work. This term is bound to have surfaced sometime in your life. Whether it may be school work, volunteer work, office work, house work, charity work, or any other category, there are always moments where we feel suffocated by them. Although these forms of work are crucial in ensuring stability in our economy, too much of it, in turn, can put your own stability at risk. From writer Annie Dillard, we learn that one third of our entire lives, including our time sleeping, is consumed by work. This is clearly an issue. Working these long hours can often camouflage the truly important things in life we already have. How many hours is enough? What if I fall behind? I need to do something! What if everyone else is working and I’m not? Am I not doing enough? These sentences have always surrounded my frontal lobe, stealthy deciding the trajectory of my life… until I didn’t let it anymore. Speaking directly through my personal experiences, I’ve learned the significance of the advice listed below. I hope that these pieces of advice can help you live a happier and healthier life as it has done for me!
Legend:
Stop Before Reaching The Breaking Point
I cannot begin to stress how important it is to know where your breaking point is because by having that knowledge, we are aware of when to stop before puncturing that delicate space. Through my own experiences, I’ve learned that most people only find out where their breaking point is by working until they pass that location. That. Is. Not. Healthy. Not only does it consume your own consciousness, it also damages your mental health in harmful ways. The good news is that it doesn’t have to be this way anymore! It’s different for everyone, but for me, the clear sign that signifies that I am approaching my breaking point dangerously closely is the itch on my left cheek which appears as well as increases the more I work and the nearer I get to penetrating my breaking point. Next time you work for long periods of time, keep an eye out for these signals you may not have noticed before. Once it is deciphered, you will know when your breaking point is near. The moment you see these signs resurfacing, tell yourself to stop and drop whatever it is you're doing and take a break. The only way to avoid perforating your breaking point, is to escape the shackles weighing us down and take a much needed break.
“So what if my breaking point never shows up?”
Well, that brings us to my next piece of advice!
Setting a Time To Stop Working
Setting a clear cutoff time for your working schedule is incredibly effective because sometimes, your breaking point doesn’t show up, nor do the signals that locate it. Not only does concluding our work on a set timetable stop us from further burning out, it also gives us something to work towards. More often than not, our strong desires to work are seeded in our fear of falling behind. By having a time that puts a stop to our work, we can know that we aren’t calling it a day because we’re lazy and have decided to not work, but because there is a cutoff time that benefits us. I’m so glad to have found this strategy because it has changed my mindset and attitude towards taking breaks! For me, my cutoff time is 10:30 PM, but for you, it can be anytime you want, because you are the person in charge of your life and the things you do in it. Don’t let anything blind you from that truth.
“But what if I can’t stop?”
“What if I have to be sitting in front of my work until the last second of each day?”
Continue reading because the next technique is for you!
The Pomodoro Technique
If you are someone that wants to be in front of your work for as long as you possibly can, consider using the Pomodoro Technique. The Pomodoro Technique is an effective time management method that requires individuals to perform focused work during 25-minute intervals known as pomodoros, followed by five-minute breaks. This method not only increases focus and minimizes distractions, but it also recharges the brain in the necessary breaks between the pomodoros! The five-minute breaks in between your pomodoros also increases your drive and motivation, consequently benefiting you, because the work that you’re carrying out can be even better than you envisioned it to be. This method is incredible because even though it works in the interest of your mental health, the result it provides in the finished product of your tasks is just as wonderful!
Note: This technique might not be for you, but don’t be afraid to give it a try because it might just have been what you’ve been missing all along!
“Oh but what if I feel this large pressure on myself to do well and I hate breaks?”
“What if these breaks make me lose my upper hand?”
I'm going to tell you right now that you’ve got to stop thinking like this.
Don’t believe me? Keep reading.
Acknowledge That Your Only Competitor Is Yourself
It is incredibly vital to acknowledge that your only competitor is yourself. Other individuals around you should not be a determining factor that weighs in on how you wish to spend your life. It’s important to note that the things that you do should only be for yourself and those you love. I know how hard it is to take out all the unnecessary variables from this equation and just focus on the necessary ones because I have been there. I have seen firsthand how a mindset like this can affect a person’s mental health. I was often burdened with feeling inferior in comparison to others, but I’ve learned that though competition drives us to become better versions of ourselves, it is often unrealistic. Even if you surpass everyone in your classes, workspaces, or surroundings, there is bound to be other people out there greater than you are. This is when you ask yourself: Why waste my precious time competing with others when I can compete with myself? After I learned this, my mindset shifted from “I need to be better than them” to “I need to be better than the me I was yesterday.” This drastic perspective change allowed me to further thrive in my work and has left its impact in all that I do. No longer was my mind set on surpassing others and putting myself to unrealistic standards, letting them take control of me, but instead, I wanted to surpass myself! Reflecting upon this has allowed me to realize that this was the fulfilling aspect that enabled me to succeed in the things I did.
“What if I still feel drained and burnt out all the time even with this mindset?”
“Is there anything I can do?”
Yes! Of course there is!
Always Leave Time for Yourself and Loved Ones
There is always something you can do to recharge! For me, I’ve discovered that finding time out of my busy schedule and designating it towards myself, the people I love, and the things I love to be extremely effective in ensuring I feel motivated for tomorrow. It’s hard enough to be surrounded with never-ending piles of work, but it’s even harder when you’re tired and burnt out. If you’re an extrovert like me and feel energized by being around others, find someone you love and talk to them. When I say talk, I mean really talk. Don’t talk online, talk in person! Reach out and hangout with them. I assure you, your motivation and smile will come back even stronger than a 90s trend (😉). All you have to do is explore and find the things that make you the happiest as well as the calmest. By having this, you have now found an effective cure that benefits both your mental health and work!
“Despite doing all of the things written in the advice you’ve given me, I’m still not seeing an improvement in the state of my mental health and my work!”
“Are you sure about all of the things you’re saying, Bernice?”
I’m sure! I hope to put an end to your uncertainty with my last piece of advice.
Don’t Ever Work When You're Overly Stressed
None of the advice listed above will do any good if you’re overly stressed. Do not ever work when that is the case! The Yerkes-Dodson Law (as seen on the left) clearly states that when your stress levels are too high or too low, your performance will deteriorate and that is not the goal! Make sure you are stressed enough to keep yourself motivated, but not excessively stressed to a point where that motivation becomes harmful. Some ways to destress include doing something active, meditating, cooking, baking, writing in diaries or journals, drafting a song, napping, and much more! For me, I write poems. It allows me to express my thoughts in an exquisitely crafted way, introducing me to an incredibly meaningful lesson: everything that seems ugly can be turned into something beautiful when it is viewed in a different perspective. Find something that turns your negativity into positivity! Only when you've reached a healthy point of stress should you resume your work. By doing so, you can have a healthy mental state and can also be at the peak of your performance!
Wow! Very inspiring indeed. I really like how you used your own experiences to help others.