There are few things in life that are so incredibly important to focus on and astonishingly hard to maintain. That number one challenge for me is balance. Think of just about any problem in life.
You're overweight : balance your couch time out with exercise, or maybe you need more veggies and less ice cream. You're relationship is suffering : you probably spend too much time at work or browsing the internet. You are doing poorly in class : you might be partying too hard on the weekends instead of spending some time at the library.
The list could go on and on, and I bet you every time it all comes back to balance, or lack there of. With this idea in mind I've spent countless hours trying to figure out the perfect formula. I'm a major list person, so there must be a way to keep all of these things in check in a very methodical manner, right? Maybe there is, but I haven't found the key. The only thing I can manage to make work for me is awareness. Awareness of how I'm spending my time and energy, and how I'm not.
I broke my life down into the six categories that matter most to me and keeping a balanced life: relationships, the self, health, career, learning, and free-time. Even though these seem self-explanatory I want to take a second to hit on why each category is so vital.
RELATIONSHIPS
"You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” – Jim Rohn
The people we surround ourselves with contribute so much to the person we become. It is important to A. Make sure those are positive influences on your life, but also B. Make sure you are giving each relationship the time it needs and deserves. This goes for family, friends, coworkers, and significant others. This may be the hardest task, because balance with people is needed whether you see the person on a regular basis or not. So call your mom, or write a letter to that childhood friend, or just send a nice text to your beau. It takes work, but if they are solid relationships, they are worth the effort to maintain them.
THE SELF
These aren't in any particular order, but this may be my number one category and it's so easy to overlook considering we are kind of around ourselves ALL THE TIME. We are living in time when it's not uncommon to spend every spare second and fill it with something on your checklist. This may mean checking Facebook while you wait in line at the grocery or listening to the news on your commute. I know I was guilty of not even taking a lunch break to eat, rather, I'd shove food down my throat and work on a freelance project over lunch. There are no moments for silence. No time to reflect on our lives and self. And this can be one of the biggest mistakes. I've learned I need time to myself. Time to reflect, time to wonder about the next adventure, time to enjoy the silence, time to be bored, and time to make sure I'm loving myself.
HEALTH
Health is something that very much correlates with the last category of "the self." Part of making sure you are in-balance means you feel good about your body and state of mind. Most people hear health and think about weight, exercising, and diets. While a healthy lifestyle starts with eating lots of veggies and walking around the park, there is also something to be said for keeping our mental health in check as well. Health is truly one of those things you don't appreciate until it's gone, but with a proactive mindset, you can work to maintain the health you were given and work toward the health that was lost along the way.
CAREER
For many, careers are part of our life that we have to balance out of necessity. Some are super fortunate to get additional purpose and satisfaction out of their work, but other times we just have to pay the bills. Regardless of how fulfilling your work is, make sure you make time to step back from the non-stop movement of the workspace and enjoy the other people and places that fill your life.
LEARNING
Learning is another quality that can get lost in the shuffle of balancing life. I think this one is super underrated because continuous learning is what makes us interesting individuals. People fulfill this need in all kinds of ways. Reading the news, listening to a podcast, learning to ski, hearing an opinion from an opposing view, trying a new recipe, or teaching yourself a new computer program. It doesn't matter what route you take, it's the fact that you are engaging yourself and growing as a person.
FREE-TIME
This is probably as open-ended of a category as you can get, but it's important to have that vague, catch-all option. Sometimes you really do just want to sit and watch a movie. That can feel like a waste of time, but maybe you share it with a friend, learn more for your movie trivia, or use that time to unwind, but really it's just giving yourself the time to relax. So whether it's productive or restful, make sure to give yourself the free-time you need.
I must admit, I feel like I just wrote a self-help book, and I by no means am qualified for that type of writing, but I wanted to share this as part of my journey to finding balance. It doesn't mean the list would be the same for everyone. It's been a long way of figuring out my priorities and how to keep them in check. This introspection has helped me get one step closer to figuring out what works for me, and it might even help someone else struggling with balancing their life. For now, I'm just going to keep these categories all in sight and continue the balancing act of life.