We’ve all been there. I also call it the ‘Monday Morning Dread.’ The weekend is over and the workweek is about to begin.
I’ve felt it. It sucks.
We look forward all week to the weekend, so that we can do what we want to do rather than what we have to do.
The reason we feel that dread is that we would rather do something else other than go to our job. Obvious, right?
Yes, but the flipside is that if you have things in your life that provide you meaning, you have something to look forward to.
Think of an old fashioned scale which represents your work-life balance. If your job weighs really heavy on you, then you are unbalanced towards the work side of the scale.
By adding to the ‘life’ side of the scale, you can bring back a more healthy balance.
I can’t say you still won’t have other things you would rather do, but answering the following question will help you begin to re-balance.
What is meaningful to you?
I refer to this as having Purpose. Purpose is the guide to what is really important to use, based on our core values. These are the values we won’t compromise for anything or anyone.
Purpose is your mindset for the life that you want, so that you don’t live – or die – with regret.
By having activities that align with our Purpose, then life has better balance and more meaning. For example, if volunteering for an important cause is super rewarding, then you have that to look forward to. You are getting back more than what you put into it.
This could be anything, family time, a hobby, new knowledge or skill you want to master or a new pursuit other than your current job.
Having meaning to what you do will fuel you and give you a sense of inner contentment knowing that you are doing what is important to you.
Once you define your Purpose, then you can start adding to the ‘life’ side of the scale:
Prioritize
Un-clutter your schedule and focus on the most important activities. Be honest and really look at the activities that further your purpose and what is extraneous. Do the things that will increase your work-life balance satisfaction.
Warren Buffett has a 5/25 rule. The idea is that you list your top 25 goals. Then you identify the top 5 most important. You eliminate and avoid the other 20.
This concept can be adapted to think of everything you do. I want to learn the guitar, but I know I don’t have the time to devote to it. I have set that desire aside so that I have more time for the things that leverage my sense of contentment the most.
You may have heard of the ‘shiny object syndrome.’ This is where we chase the latest thing that is interesting to us. It is all to easy in a chaotic world to always try the newest thing. Try to resist the urge and set priorities.
Focus on Your Own Needs First
This goes with priortizing. If you feel more sense of obligation than a sense of reward, say no. Isn’t your obligation to yourself more important than to others? You can’t always do this, but be protective about your own needs.
Doing this won’t make you a bad person or a lousy parent, and it’s not narcississtic or self-centered. You can’t give yourself fully to others if you are not in a healthy place. The healthier you are, the more you can be present for others.
I set aside a couple of times a week to pursue the activities that return the largest mental reward. It’s not much, but by identifying what I need for a healthy balance, I priortize my time so I can do these things.
Call to Action
Do a Self-assessment. Honestly assess where you are at.
Our mindset filters our perception of reality. By altering our mindset, our perceptions of reality changes. For example, some people will find a job that provides enough security and stability to provide the lifestyle they want. It may not be the ideal job, but with that mindset, even less than ideal may be enough to contribute to a healthy perceived lifestyle.
If the work environment is really bad, are there things you can do to improve it? Can you look at it objectively and improve the relationships, the activities you perform or use it as a stepping stone to something else?
Don’t sell yourself short, work is trading your life essence for money, so make sure the trade is worth it.
Remember, the goal here is to bring your life back into a healthy balance. If you can’t lessen the job side of the scale, add to the life side.
Spend the time needed to define what is meaningful to you. Doing so will provide a huge sense of fulfillment and reward in your life and be a guide to purposeful action.
We are all granted only so much time. You deserve so much more out of life than to spend it feeling the Sunday Evening Blues.
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Originally published at www.richerself.com