My cofounder Yen and I have been coaching for the past 2 decades and what we discovered, was the #1 career concern for many Executives is, unsurprisingly, Work Life Balance.
Everybody wants one, but few achieve it…and with the exception of the lucky few with Generational Wealth behind them, many struggle to keep it.
However, the tough question we need to ask is this:
Is Your Lack Of Work Life Balance your boss’ fault….Or YOURS?
From our personal coaching sessions with High Performance Leaders, we found 5 things that are robbing you of time from your hobbies/loved ones/sleep – that could be a result of your own doing. Here they are!
1. Over-Committing
Are you trying to over-impress your boss? Or are you simply too hungry for work?
Sometimes, we over-commit out of a sense of duty or work ethics, which ends up with us over-stretching ourselves.
But when we over-commit (eg, taking on extra responsibilities or projects), we may end up with more work, but with outcomes of lower quality due to lack of resources or bandwidth.
And what began as an attempt to impress your bosses may just end up as an open display of your inability to deliver. #Backfire
Solution:
We recommend you set realistic goals and not stretch yourself too thin…and take on additional projects wisely – those you know you can handle.
2. Perfectionism
In last week’s Episode, Yen and I both admitted to not being perfectionists – and that’s how we become more effective at what we do.
Perfectionism often means over-delivering beyond what is necessary leading to excessive time spent on tasks, striving for an unattainable standard, and neglecting personal time.
Does the text on your powepoint slide need to be perfection aligned to a single pixel with the rest of the paragraph? Sometimes, 80% is enough.
Solution:
Realise that with the exception of surgical procedures and sending rockets to the moon, perfect precision is rarely necessary. Sometimes, ‘Good Enough’ is good enough.
3. Lack Of Boundaries
What do you do when your boss sends you a WhatsApp message at 2am? Do you automatically respond just to impress him?
We tell our clients “Never Feed The Troll”… as you will only encourage and embolden further bad behaviour.
Answering the message at 2am just tells your boss that you’re okay with such unreasonable behaviours – and giving him permission to do this in future!
Solution:
Learn how to decline unreasonable requests without feeling bad about it. My cofounder Yen says that “NO” is a one word answer – you don’t need to justify your response with a list of reasons or reasons.
For example, “Hey, Susan, can you take the night shift next Saturday?”. “No.”
We’re not saying that it’s all YOUR Fault, because sometimes, work can get very demanding.
However, don’t pile additional work on your plate by creating problems of your own.
If you’re keen to learn more about how to spend more time on your LIFE than your Career, watch our latest episode on SPOTIFY here.