{"id":321,"date":"2007-06-04T06:46:17","date_gmt":"2007-06-04T13:46:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/2007\/06\/04\/seven-ways-to-live-a-more-balanced-life\/"},"modified":"2018-04-03T08:52:16","modified_gmt":"2018-04-03T15:52:16","slug":"seven-ways-to-live-a-more-balanced-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/2007\/06\/04\/seven-ways-to-live-a-more-balanced-life\/","title":{"rendered":"Seven Ways to Live a More Balanced Life"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Balance\"<\/p>\n

I believe life balance doesn\u2019t come so much from how you work, but how you rest. Unless you are working 80 hour workweeks in a toxic environment, the answer to the level of balance you have between life and work isn\u2019t going to come from how you spend time in the office but what you do with the other 120 hours in your week.<\/p>\n

Here are some suggestions for resting actively and achieving greater life balance:<\/p>\n

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  1. Remove Busyness<\/strong> – The more responsibilities you have, the greater amount of background noise in your life. This means that as soon as you get spare time, it will automatically fill with the hum of a million to-do lists. In order to rest actively, you need to cut out all the time and energy draining activities that are plaguing you currently. I\u2019ve found the best solution is to organize (implement a system like GTD) and then eliminate and prioritize so low-value tasks aren\u2019t robbing you.<\/li>\n
  2. Add New Hobbies and Activities<\/strong> – Hobbies and new activities are great ways to rest actively. I\u2019ve heard from fellow Toastmaster members that Toastmasters is their highpoint after a stressful week. Taking up a new hobby like painting or martial arts, or reviving an old hobby, can be a great way to rest actively.<\/li>\n
  3. Socialize<\/strong> – Although this normally means partying, socializing doesn\u2019t need to mean a hangover. Meeting up with friends can be a great way to rest actively whether it is grabbing dinner or heading to a concert.<\/li>\n
  4. Start a Personal Project <\/strong>– Start on that novel you\u2019ve always wanted to write or set up your own blog. Starting a personal project can be a great use of your spare time. Just make sure it doesn\u2019t use the same muscles (more on that later) that your regular work does or you\u2019ll be doing more harm than good.<\/li>\n
  5. Mini-Adventures <\/strong>– Maybe you don\u2019t have the time or money for world travel right now, but that doesn\u2019t mean you can\u2019t have mini-adventures today. Find a park or tourist location in your city and spend an afternoon exploring. Better yet, bring some friends and make it a group adventure.<\/li>\n
  6. Volunteer<\/strong> – Volunteer work can be incredibly satisfying. I\u2019ve coached soccer to kids and ran a few volunteer positions for Toastmasters. But this doesn\u2019t mean you need to start working at a soup kitchen. Any task where the primary profit for you is the good feeling of helping someone else will do.<\/li>\n
  7. Reflect<\/strong> – Although reflection isn\u2019t nearly as active as the other suggestions, it is still a good use of your time. I can spend anywhere from ten minutes to several hours journaling, contemplating and thinking through ideas. You can reflect too much and miss out on new experiences, but a small dose of self-examination isn\u2019t a bad thing.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Why does active rest work? I believe the reason active rest creates a more balanced life can be summarized by three principles:<\/p>\n

    It Forms a Scaled-Down Version of Your Ideal Life<\/h2>\n

    Your life right now should be a reflection of your ideal life, given your current resources. What does this mean? Well if in your ideal life you travel around the world and spend a lot of time meeting new people, you should at least be having mini-adventures and socializing more today. Your resources might not support everything in your imaginary lifestyle, but they usually can come pretty close.<\/p>\n

    Active rest means reclaiming time spent on busyness and low-value activities and investing it back into the tasks you draw real value from. Any of the above suggestions can have a huge impact on the overall quality of your life.<\/p>\n

    Makes Distinction Between Active\/Passive Not Work\/Rest<\/h2>\n

    What is work and what is non-work? The answer is usually what pays the bills and what you do for free. This can be a useful distinction, but it only goes so far. I’ve found a better distinction is active versus passive. This measures the degree between complete engagement and complete detachment.<\/p>\n

    I don\u2019t believe a proper balance here is 50\/50. I\u2019ve found the best balance for myself (discounting sleep) would be along the lines of 90\/10. Being fully engaged in life 90% of the time, whether it is work, play or active rest and then having the other 10% for reflection, passive entertainment and relaxation.<\/p>\n

    Uses Different Muscles, So Burnout is Avoided<\/h2>\n

    I mentioned in the list that when starting personal projects you need to be careful that you don\u2019t use the same muscles you use for work or you can do more harm than good. I believe that you can be active 90% of the time only if you aren\u2019t using the same mental muscles. This way you may be very tired in one respect, but still have a lot of energy in another area.<\/p>\n

    Here are a couple different muscle groups, I\u2019ve recognized:<\/p>\n