Dear <<First Name>>;
Happy New Year!
Welcome to 2012! I hope you had festive and restful holidays and are ready to start the new year with zest. Of course, the way some holiday seasons go, we sometimes feel the need for a vacation starting January 2 just to recover from all the get-togethers, travel, and food consumption!
I had a nice break while house-sitting for a friend, and already, at only January 5, I am back into the whirlwind of work. I’ve written a number of times in previous articles about nourishment, self-care, and time management, and all of these relate to my topic of focus today: balance.
Whether you feel recovered from the holidays and excited to be starting the new year, or would prefer 2 weeks off right about now, it’s a great time to think about starting your year off right; creating your life to look the way you want in terms of balance. After all, it is unsustainable to live any other way. Today’s article will help you begin thinking about this, and see below for the announcement about my upcoming webinar on escaping from overwork and overwhelm.
I’m starting the new year with a powerful commitment to sustainable and harmonious relationship between different dimensions of my life. How about you?
Are you Overwhelmed and Overworked?
Attend this webinar...
5 Steps to Poised and Powerful
...where you will learn:
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3 things that balance ISN'T, and what it is instead
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The 5 stages we go through to move from imbalance to living a life of harmony and integration
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3 powerful ways to re-frame balance that will radically shift your perspective
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3 reasons why it is crucial that you put yourself FIRST instead of LAST
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A step-by-step method to begin making small changes to create a healthier, more aligned life
Stay tuned for next week’s announcement about this complimentary webinar! If you are not already on my email list and want to be notified about this exciting event, just
click here!
Keys to Designing Your Life for Optimal Balance
by Julie Stiles
Have you felt overwhelmed, like you are juggling too many hats and not doing anything well because you’re doing too much? Do you feel tired all thetime and never have enough time or energy for yourself? If so, you are not alone. Overwork and overwhelm are major factors in today’s workplace; in a 2010 survey 89% of those asked said work-life balance was a problem.
I discovered overwhelm and burnout early in my working life, in my first job out of college as a high school teacher. Years later I experienced it in another position where again my responsibility, loyalty, and perfectionism led me to work insane hours. These two experiences helped me understand my own tendencies toward workaholism—if there’s work to do, I will do it. In starting my own business, where there is always work to do, I knew I needed to find a new approach, and have been in an ongoing inquiry into designing my life to be both sustainable and enjoyable.
If you have been thinking you could use some re-adjustment in where you are spending time and energy, the keys below will help you begin.
Key #1: Avoid Dichotomies (that don’t reflect real life)
Much of what is written about balance comes from the perspective of “work-life balance.” This is unfortunate, as it separates “work” from “life” and lumps a whole lot into “life” leaving that term vague and useless. It also encourages thinking in unrealistic ways about balancing between these two; I tend to think I’ve got to come up with some way to create equality, like work is on one scale and life is on the other, and they should come out the same in terms of my time and energy. None of this reflects life as we actually live it.
Instead, a more holistic approach that takes into account different facets of your life (such as creativity, home, relationships, career, spirituality, creativity) can help you see which areas you are not paying attention to and how you might like to adjust your focus. This can also help you begin to cross-pollinate different areas of your life (see Key #4).
Key #2: Expect Calibration
I have occasionally fallen into the trap of thinking that if I could just figure out the right schedule and improve my time management skills, that would be it, a life of harmony and equanimity would be mine. Forever!
Go to my blog to read the rest!
Julie Stiles is a health and transformation coach who works with women seeking to live balanced and integrated lives so they can reach their highest potential. She holds an MA in Consciousness Studies from John F. Kennedy University, and brings together in her coaching her interests in transformation and healing. Julie offers private and group coaching, workshops, and teleseminars, and works with people in person and worldwide via phone and the internet.
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