Work/Rest Balance
Recently, I attended a Fundraising Luncheon for Crosspoint Human Services, a community Mental Health and Human Services organization that has been serving Vermilion County since 1980. At this luncheon I listened to many women give great speeches about leadership, life and health. One in particular struck me.
Brittany Morris is a wife, mother, accomplished professional, curious leader, and the Director of the Outpatient Mental Health Clinic at Crosspoint. I have a tremendous amount of respect for Brittany. She graciously agreed to let me share her message with you. I hope you find it as impactful as I did.
Recently I had the privilege of being asked to speak about the hot button issue of work life balance. A subject coined in the 70’s and 80’s and increasingly growing in popularity, especially on the hills of the pandemic. I quickly agreed and started brainstorming ways to explore this topic.
This wasn’t my first rodeo with the concept of work/life balance, both personally and professionally. I’ve worked with several individuals on this very subject matter in one way or another and I have lost my own center a time or two or several. But I have always wished there was a better way to describe this phenomenon that we are so intensely trying to achieve.
During one of my nightly random rants (as I like to call it) I ask my husband, what if we can’t achieve work life balance? What if it’s not real…He gently told me to go to sleep. I did, but not before the thoughts ran ramped for a while. I mean think about it! What are some of the things you do after you leave your job for the day? Could they be seen as work? Do we stop living while we are working?
After taking a deeper dive into this elusive concept I was met with reinforcing information, and I concluded that although the idea of work life balance was important, it was only one way to view the overall issue of stress response. So, I shifted focus a bit.
I wanted to talk about work/rests balance, or even better work/rest equity!
A pursuit of equilibrium between the energy we expend on our life works and things we do to replenish and restore ourselves. Biologically we are trying to achieve this sweet spot anyway. Our bodies are constantly trying to reach a level of regulation to attain and maintain optimal performance. Maybe it’s time to lean in!
I did some additional research on ways to think about, create, and maintain work/rest equity, and consolidated into what I call Triple A, “pun intended”. Triple A stands for Assessment, Access, and Assertiveness. This is not an exhaustive list, but a good start on the road to work/rest equity and effective stress responsiveness.
Assessment is defined as the evaluation or estimation of the nature, quality, or ability of someone or something. When we have a better view of what we are working with, we can adjust accordingly. Some ways to start assessing our work/rest state is through…
Mental, physical, and even spiritual wellness checks: What is the current state of your being?
Goal and priority mapping: Take stock of what is important to you.
Take inventory of your time, what are we doing with our 24?
Access is defined as a means of approaching or entering a place. Once you have done an evaluation of your needs, slowly begin to create room for practical and purposeful solutions for rest.
Design a life with you in mind: look for ways to customize your world to fit the needs identified in your assessment.
Curate and nurture your village: Your village should not only consist of family and friends, but trusted advisors, health professionals and spiritual communities and educators.
Assertiveness is defined as an adaptive style of communication in which individuals express their feelings and needs directly, while maintaining respect for others. This step is needed to…
Create and maintain healthy boundaries surrounding your work/rest balance.
Boldly prioritize yourself
Protect your star player! You!
We have permission to take care of ourselves in all the ways necessary to feel whole. This is not a luxury, it is a necessity. The burnout epidemic is only one stressor we are fighting, and to be triumphant we must show up for ourselves consistently, this is not selfish this is not egotistic this is a requirement, because like the old saying goes you cannot give from an empty cup.