by Megan Brown, @thatgirlmegan
It seems that everyone's working for the weekend.
With only 45% of Americans pleased with their jobs, does that say something about the jobs or something about us?
Reaching five o'clock on Friday is like finally gaining entrance into the Promised Land. And then, when Monday morning rolls around again, we're back to wishing our lives away and counting the hours until the weekend.
I'll go ahead and say it: that's no way to live. Fitting in your life around work is an ineffective way to stay happy and positive. Instead, I'm determined to strike a comfortable balance between life and work. Here's my game plan:
Focusing on a Larger Goal
One of the best ways to achieve harmony in life and work is to work towards a common, larger goal that can be applied to both your personal life and your job.
My goal: to be more focused and driven in everything I do.
I want to learn how to ski this winter. Having never skied before and being a self-confessed novice in the arena of winter sports, I'm not expecting to step out in my new ski jacket and ski pants, strap on some skis and whiz around the slopes like a pro. I'll have to take my fair share of lumps and bumps before I can probably even conquer the bunny hill. And, at a certain point, I'll surely wonder, "Am I in over my head?"
Learn Along the Way
Learning to be more productive at work is a constant and unyielding journey. Add to that journey the setbacks of frustrating meetings, changing work requirements, a heavy workload and overbooking, and I quickly find that I feel like I've bitten off more than I can chew.
Learning how to conquer the bunny hill and learning how to conquer work may not seem related, but once you dig a little deeper, you'll find that you need the same fundamental skills to do both. Once I realized that being focused and driven could help me both in skiing and working, I realized that my work and personal life don't have to be in a constant battle.
Life, when done correctly, is training for work. And work, when done correctly, is training for life. My determination on the slopes can translate to the office and my focus in the office can translate to the slopes.
In the same way, dealing with and learning from mistakes or 'failures' at work can help me learn to deal with falling down time and time again on the slopes. Life is all about developing the right mentality, and once you can look on a situation, translate it to other areas of your life and make the most out of it, you can do just about anything. Besides maybe mastering the black diamond in a weekend.
Common Ground
With a common ground established between your work and personal life, bridging the gap between the two and living in harmony with yourself is easier than you ever could have thought. Challenge yourself to set goals for your personal benefit, and then choose an area of your work and personal life to perfect simultaneously. You'll be surprised to find just how much everything you do actually does work together.
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Megan Brown is a social media networker at Slingshot SEO. You can follow her adventures in SEO, sports, volunteering, cycling, and popsicle eating on twitter or her personal website.
Website: ThatGirlMegan.com | Twitter: @ThatGirlMegan
