I was talking to a supervisor at my workplace yesterday and got on the topic of a balanced lifestyle. He mentioned how he prioritizes balance; he doesn’t overwork if he helps it and tries to find time for himself every day. With a fast-paced job he mentioned how people feel the need to stay over and work too hard, which leads to burnout and inefficiency in tasks. I found it interesting how someone who leads upwards of a hundred people can still manage to effectively balance his life out to a place where he’s happy. Of course, balance may be hard or seemingly impossible when in certain unstable job settings or even working multiple jobs; but there’s always a way to achieve some type of balance, even if it’s in small ways.

While my co-worker talked about a more kind of 9-5 type of job, I felt like I was able to relate even with my current job standing. I love my job, even with the weird hours and constantly changing starting times. However, what I had to learn to handle was balance--something I had tried to attain in college. It wasn’t like it was impossible, but with school schedules and work I felt like I couldn’t take a break or socialize, and if I wasn’t trying to work on a project I was sleeping. While part of my inefficiency can be blamed on my ADHD, I feel like most of my problems came from not having a schedule. I tend to play things by ear, and while it makes me more adaptable at work it can cause me to neglect other aspects of my life. I feel like now having a written schedule allows me to make time for myself and do things I need to do to be effective later in work, whereas in college I felt stressed or anxious by having a schedule I was bound to.

When it comes to schedules, I’m starting to see maybe more people see it in my eyes than I thought. There’s a general list of things that we have to do; work, eat, sleep. But what of relationships, personal time, exercise, or hobbies? Those tend to be pushed to the back burner as things get so overwhelming we’re not able to see what we’re pushing away. That’s where a schedule can be helpful in maintaining and balancing our everyday lives. It’s good take care of your emotional, mental, and physical health, and if you feel drained from work it’s a sign that something needs to change.

From my conversation with my co-worker to reading up on articles, the key is to keep yourself in check. You want to work but not to the point where you’re running yourself more ragged than necessary, and you want to be able to make time for things you want to do. Setting weekly goals or schedules have helped me do smaller things I’ve been wanting to do so I feel a sense of fulfillment in other aspects of my life other than work. Prioritizing is also something I’ve found invaluable; I’m able to ask myself “what’s the most important thing to me right now?” That can mean calling that friend or maybe staying up an hour later to finish that movie, but if it’s important to me I should make time for it.

I always struggled with this in school and sacrificed too much to get things done that I wasn’t working enough in. It wasn’t because I was lazy or unmotivated, but I felt miserable because I couldn’t make time to do things I enjoyed. After my talk with my co-worker, I realized I’ve become better at managing myself and my time, as well as sorting out my priorities. I still have a ways to go and a lot to improve on, but I definitely feel like I’m one step closer to falling into a more stable routine.