Work/Life Balance:
A False Dichotomy
One of the first responses to chronic stress is evaluating our work life. Often, well-meaning friends and family suggest getting a better grasp on a “work/life balance.” The assumption is that you work too much and live “real life” too little.Therapist Landon Dunn, LISW, LICDC, suggests this is a false dichotomy. “There is no work vs. life. All of life is just life.” What someone might be seeking is for a person to spend less of his/her life working, which can bring balance to the physical and emotional stress responses.
Instead of looking at a “work life” and “real life”, Landon suggests working mindfully. Rather than “going hard” all day only to return home and “play hard” and collapse into bed exhausted, consider mindfully living your entire day.
Instead of looking at a “work life” and “real life”, Landon suggests working mindfully. Rather than “going hard” all day only to return home and “play hard” and collapse into bed exhausted, consider mindfully living your entire day.
- Cultivate practices that help you return to your body, even while at work. Taking walks and isometric exercises at your desk help you return to your physicality. When you take a coffee break, set the laptop aside and truly taste the coffee and let yourself savor the flavor, not just the caffeinated effects.
- Neuroscientist Rick Hanson talks about “savoring the good” and feeling into moments of joy. So when you get the good news that the deal has gone through or that a client provided excellent feedback, sit an extra 3-5 seconds and allow it to ruminate.
- Finally, within your work day, just as in the greater picture of your life, make sure that rest & restore stops are scheduled. Just 90 seconds to 2 minutes of mindful breathing in the present moment can help reset the hyper-arousal of the sympathetic nervous system, helping to decrease the rate of sickness and bringing your mental state into the present moment. Consider scheduling into your daily iCal or Outlook calendar a 2-3 minute recharging, and then schedule around it.
