I was chatting with a friend over dinner the other night when we began discussing life balance. As we were talking, I was thinking about the literal definition of balance:
bal·ance 
[bal-uhns] Pronunciation Key noun, verb, -anced, -anc·ing. –noun
| 1. | a state of equilibrium or equipoise; equal distribution of weight, amount, etc. |
| 2. | something used to produce equilibrium; counterpoise. |
| 3. | mental steadiness or emotional stability; habit of calm behavior, judgment, etc. |
When we talk about life balance, it's important to understand that...
if you work a full time job, as most people do, you'll never have true "balance" from a dictionary standpoint. Let's do a little math. I've made these numbers up as an example. I know some of you work part time and others work more than 40 hours. So these are ballpark examples. Roll with it.
Total hours in a week: 168
Subtract hours for the following:
Sleep: (7 hours average per night) 49
Work: 40
Commuting: 10
Meals: 10
Home & life maintenance: 40 (this encompasses everything from laundry to getting dressed to running errands, to washing the car, to grocery shopping, and more)
That's a total of 149 hours each week, just doing the things that keep your life functioning. Out of 168 hours, that leaves you a total of 19 hours a week to squeeze in some "balance". Good thing American Idol is only an hour show!
The truth is if you work full time, you're just not likely to have literal hour-for-hour life balance. You just plain don't have 40 hours of fun time left over to counter-balance your 40 work hours. The good news is it doesn't take 40 hours of fun to balance 40 hours of work. Now, I have no scientific proof, but I don't believe it's a one-for-one calculation.
See, I think leisure hours are like a balsamic reduction. (Bear with me as I indulge my foodie side). Balsamic vinegar is yummy in marinades, salad dressings and such. It has a wonderful flavor and it's a common and versatile cooking ingredient. Balsamic reduction, however, is a different. It's made by evaporating the liquid out of balsamic vinegar over medium heat, until it's reduced to a thick, sweet, intensely flavored dark syrup, which is drizzled over pastas, salads, fruit, meat or chicken.
The key when working with a balsamic reduction is that you can't use too much because of its intense flavor. What started out as three cups of regular vinegar might reduce down to 1/2 cup of reduction, so a little of it goes a really long way. You can enhance the flavor of an entire chicken with just a small amount of reduction.
I think leisure activities are the same way. To add balance to your life, you don't need 40 hours of fun time to counteract 40 hours of work. You can just "drizzle" in a few hours of fun things and you'll feel more balanced. And like the reduction, you should be careful not to use too much leisure. When you try to cram too many hours of "balance" or leisure activity, it's not always fun! You end up overwhelmed and stressed out, which is precisely what balance is supposed to help you avoid.
What do you think? I'd love to know you stay balanced in your life.
Success & Simplicity,
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