T Harv Eker: Life Balance? Here Are The Most Critical Strategies To Achieve It

Life Balance? Here Are The Most Critical Strategies To Achieve It By T Harv Eker An important question I get asked all the time from students around the world is this: how do you find the perfect work-life balance?

Is it possible to reach the highest levels of success while maintaining happy personal relationships, great health, and so on?

I’m here to tell you that yes, it’s possible — but it requires a heck of a lot of balance and effort!

Here’s a personal example:

I was at my home in Hawaii, and I’d scheduled five hours Monday through Thursday afternoons for writing.

Can you figure out how much writing I did after three months?

If your calculations added up to ZERO, you are correct! My life was definitely not balanced, and it felt pretty awful.

The plan had seemed like a good idea, but in reality, that kind of little-bit-every-day regularity isn’t how I write. Never has been. My mind had set me up for failure, which then made me feel bad about myself.

What does work for me? Spending a solid chunk of time someplace different, secluded, and distraction-free.

So I blocked off one whole month in Lake Tahoe, and BOOM. Unlike with my original plan, now I was excited to write. In the end, I followed through, everything flowed, and there was no beating myself up about anything.

To me, that’s balance. For you, it might look totally different, and that’s fine.

The good news is that I’ve found a few key strategies everyone can use to create a work-life balance that feels right.

Strategy #1: Know How You Work Best

A consistent person is good with a regular schedule like my original writing plan.

A burst person works best when they dedicate bigger chunks of time like I did with my month in Lake Tahoe.

It’s also possible to have a combination of these two styles. For example, I burst with writing, but I’m great at being consistent with my morning exercise.

You’ve got to know what works for you and stick to that as much as possible.

Do that, and you’ll be happier, more productive, and more efficient, which means you’ll have more time to spend on other priorities.

Speaking of…

Strategy #2: The Big Rocks Method

A “big rock” is a priority, such as family, romantic relationships, friendships, personal projects, health, etc. They’re not going anywhere, nor should they. They’re your MUSTS, and they’re non-negotiable.

But here’s a really important thing to keep in mind: just because your big rocks are all equally important doesn’t mean they require equal time.

What matters is that you devote QUALITY time to each.

Maybe you decide you’ll spend one hour each night with your kids. Maybe you have a weekly date night. Maybe you exercise 30 minutes at some point during the day. Maybe you dedicate time during the weekend for personal projects.

The goal is to make sure you’re attending to ALL your big rocks on a regular basis and being fully present when you do.

Knowing you’ve spent quality time on all your priorities, even if it’s not as much time as you’d ideally like, will help immensely with your sense of balance.

Strategy #3: Setting Boundaries And Maintaining Flexibility

Boundaries…

Having strong boundaries means being clear about when you’re available and when you’re not. This applies both to communicating with others and to holding yourself accountable.

During my month in Lake Tahoe, I turned down invitations, meetings, and phone calls. The only exception was time with family — worth it because they’re a big rock.

Defining and sticking to your boundaries helps you focus better on the task, experience, or interaction on hand, meaning the time you spend will be QUALITY time.

Flexibility…

This is real life, and stuff happens, so it’s important to be able to go with the flow.

If you’ve got young kids or elderly parents, you may have to work around their needs.

If you’re an employee, you may have to go with the schedule you’re given or work overtime to get a project done.

If you have a health issue, you may have to take full advantage of the time you do feel up for work, relationships, or personal stuff.

It’s totally possible to be flexible and still maintain balance. Just keep going back to those big rocks, and set those boundaries wherever you can.

In the end, balance is all about doing what you need to do when you need to do it AND also knowing how you work best, dedicating quality time to your priorities, and setting firm yet flexible boundaries.

This will all help you immensely with balancing your life effectively.

And the good news is that you can get started right now! Tell me, are you a burst, consistent, or combo person? And what are your big rocks? I’m curious to hear from you, so please share in the comments below! Source: http://blog.harveker.com/most-critical-strategies-to-achieve-life-balance/