Sometimes we think that the harder we work, the more we get done, and the more value we have as human beings. This isn’t necessarily the case. In fact, it is not the case. As Elite Daily puts it, “Human beings are not machines. Our brains and bodies require rest in order for us to be at our best, or most efficient” and they were able to support that with a case study that proved that very thing!
There is a particular website that has a wonderful list of activities and strategies to help focus your brain. The idea is to increase the concentration (and productivity) without increasing, say, the “wear and tear” component. This should be a balanced and productive approach and not a rip-it-to-pieces-to-get-it-done approach.
Mistakenly, that second approach is the one that seems to be the most common in a Corporate American environment and has caught on in other cultures, as well. It is about time that business understands that productivity is often tied to the balance in one’s life and that affects the business team, as well.
Tone Down Those Hours
According to The Guardian, “For many American workers, even a 40-hour workweek is a distant fantasy.” That is because we work, and work, and work some more. Yet, if we could tone that down to a six-hour day, we are likely to feel more rested and actually become more creative with our healthy mind and body.
Elite Daily, continues the pontification on this topic with “it’s tough, if not unrealistic, to constantly do your best work” in the context of working too many hours. With pushing ourselves to work 40 or more hours per week, we are burning out the very creativity that we desire to infuse into that work.
The Environment
Sometimes, keeping balanced has to do with creating a balanced environment. That may mean soothing music, a comfortable couch, a nice view out the window. It may also include things like getting all those thoughts out of your mind and somewhere where you can process it.
You might be the type that likes to visually address issues and move things around until they make sense (kinesthetic). Maybe you like to draw. Maybe a whiteboard with an attached corkboard is the thing for you. If you have an office that has glass walls, maybe a good supply of post-it notes is the answer.
A Life That Entertains Your Mind
Trying to be something that you are not is not always conducive to what is the healthiest for you as a person. Finding what pleases you or brings that twinkle to your eyes may be what is needed to find balance in your life. Whether it is a continual curiosity, a consummate mixture of comedy and pathos, or a skill at storytelling, maybe even debate, find what it is that motivates who it is that you are, from the very core.
The Practical Practices: Get it Off Your Mind
Think in terms of how you can ease your mind and still retain the knowledge or project information. Maybe this has to do with your environment and how you process information. Maybe this has to do with the organization and how you file your ideas. Remember that not everything has to stay in your brain at all times. You are allowed to store it and retrieve it at will when it works for you.
I find it convenient to make lists. I also find it convenient to add recurring lists to calendar items. That may not be the process that works for everyone, but it is something that works for me. There are also tangible items like file cabinets and thirty day file books.
The idea is to get it off your mind. You are not made to be a walking file cabinet. According to The Thought Catalog, “As Beethoven is reported to have said, ‘If I don’t write it down immediately I forget it right away.’” So, let your mind create, just like Beethoven, but then store the ideas so that you are able to retrieve them later. If it is easiest, keep a journal and as you think of ideas, no matter how random, write them down, or type them into that journal. Be sure to keep backups, just in case, so that none of your creative ideas are lost.
In Conclusion
Think on ways that you can balance even your daily activities. How can you be more efficient? How can you accomplish your goals, without tiring yourself out so much? Do you have too much on your plate? Is there a way to pare down what you do so that you are more balanced?
I can certainly agree with your words. The idea of working harder and getting more is very old and common. People are loosing balance of life in making more. They forget to live, yet making for living. Does not really make sense.
Thank you. It is good that we are realizing it more and more 😉