A Moment That Changed My Perspective on Work-Life Balance

This life has a peculiar way of sending us messages just when we need them the most. For example, when I was finishing up at a conference meeting at a state far away from my state, I received a message notification on my phone. It was a text message from my wife saying, ‘Hello darling, are you still busy? I want to chat with you now’.

At that moment, I was really exhausted and my first instinct was to ignore the message. However, before I sat down a thought flashed on my mind , ‘Don’t be so busy pursuing ambition that you don’t have time for what matters in life’. That message really opened my eyes because at that moment I realized how I have been living my life.

I had been focusing so much on the business that I had completely neglected my family and my personal life. I would wake up very early in the morning, go to the office, and come back home very late at night. As a result, my family was only left with 39 minutes to one hour of my time on weekdays and some more on the weekends. My life was a constant monotonous cycle of working and sleeping without really experiencing any joy or living life.

I made a significant change in my lifestyle two years ago; I decided to put my family first. Now, I maintain my sales business but spend more time with the family by restructuring my daily routine to return home much earlier.

When I discovered blogging, it quickly became a passion that I pursued from home. This transition has improved my family life in ways I never thought were conceivable. I get to witness my children going about their everyday lives, such as during their playtime, while they are studying, and all of the intriguing questions that they have. These were the moments my wife used to take care of single-handedly.

Upon reflection, I can remember how many nights I returned home too tired to spend even a few minutes with my family. Even weekends failed to provide me with leisure time as they were constricted with church activities, crypto investing, and blogging.

I have spent the last nine years in sales, and it is, without a doubt, my favorite occupation. Daily interactions with new people and having the opportunity to assist them drives my passion. Making an impact in business has always been my goal, and I have been able to motivate other people. But I lacked a balanced lifestyle, and that is when I turned to writing as a secondary passion to achieve that balance.

The transition in my life was not simply about how I organized my day, but where I concentrated the most effort. To actively be with my kids means to watch how they reason with their childlike logic, their growth, daily firsts. There was no way I was going to allow myself to think about how I could have looked back in years having regrets about not being there for the formative moments of their childhood.

My marriage has also changed quite drastically. Enjoy the wife of your youth is a proverbs that rings true now more than ever. Strength, hype, and positivity is what youth brings to a relationship. Since spending more time at home, our bond has strengthened on a daily basis. There is not a chance either of us wants to lose out on the joy of spending time with each other.

The irony does not escape my understanding; while toiling away at work, I always seemed to overlook things that were far more important than completing tasks. Now, however, I know how to set ‘guard rails’ and limit boundaries. Family is a priority, work is secondary, and everything else comes after. Irrespective of whether a friends were paying a visit, I now divide my time into family time, and it does not get interfered with. As a father I can admit that fatigue made me prefer personal devotion over family prayers as a first choice. Things have changed, and family prayer time has set deadlines. Work becomes of lower importance when it is unfinished by family prayer time, and if it is unfinished, it can always wait until tomorrow. Family time is synchronized, and sleep cycles are now as a unit.

Realigning with multiple habits at once can be tough, but the outcomes make it worthwhile. Achievements devoid of family become utterly empty. Whatever amount of money earned cannot replace time with family; and without family when things go bad, there is nothing to turn to.

Make all these new changes from today. Families deserve more from us, and should freely take up the rest of our time. Time for dinner should no longer be working hour, and phones and computers need to be put away as well. Emails, messages alerts, and trading signals can wait; the family come first.

Keep in mind that everything being built becomes worthless if the kingdom at home is lost.

The image used is AI generated.

Posted Using INLEO