As a life coach I have taught and worked with many tools that revolve around the concept of how to create life balance. I have found this landscape to be tricky and I have continued to play with and try new things. There are many ways one can look at life balance. You can look at your roles, responsibilities, values and vision as effective ways to map out and see how to redefine time management.
Lately, I was struck by a suggestion from Thomas Leonard and his top 10 keys for attracting great clients. His number one suggestion is this; “Become incredibly selfish! Yes, it’s ironic, but as you take care of yourself, manage your time, your space, and your life well, you will have more to give and more to share. If you want more clients, take extremely good care of Client #1.”
So, as I really let that awareness filter in, I started to come I came up with this model that would be simple and yet work for me. It is a three tiered model and it works something like this:
Top Tier: Is fundamentally a tier of self care. In being aware of how I flow my energy and manage my schedule, I am in fact taking great care of all parts of myself. This tier includes a focus on how I am taking care of my body. Am I taking nutrients? Am I exercising? Am I sleeping solid hours? Do I wake up refreshed? Without my body in tip top shape, it is hard to move myself through the day with focus, energy and vision.
I have come to realize that my finances also come under this tier. In managing my income and expenditures, I have more awareness of how money is flowing. Being realistic about this area of my life gives me greater ease. In the past, I would have put managing my money lower on the tier scale-which in the past has created more stress and less connection to how I am doing financially.
The top tier also includes my spiritual, emotional and mental development as well. I can easily scan my life and know if any of these areas are not being nourished. Am I feeling isolated? Do I simply just need some time with a good friend? Or is it time to take a walk alone by the river?
Self care is about manifesting creative outlets, fun and expression as well. And because the spiritual side of me is truly the focus, I include my Life Purpose in here as well. It helps me remember that I can achieve that purpose if I have extreme self care. The last most important piece to all of this for me is Passion. It is important to consistently remind myself WHAT I am most passionate about, what I dream and envision for myself and to go play with those ideas and expressions.
The key for me in top tier management is always being aware of my body. Without it, I have no vehicle from which to express myself.
Second Tier: This tier is about relationships. The relationships in my life are mostly centered around parenting my two daughters. Yet, it also includes friends, family, co-workers and clients. For others, this may include your spouse, close sibling, parent, etc.
In this tier I know that my support team lies here. It has helped me in the last year to really define what relationships matter the most to me, and to give them time. However, they can’t prevail over Tier 1, because I have to take care of myself before I can really be present and supportive of others.
Third Tier:The third tier revolves around work and career. It is where I utilize what I am good at and create abundance for myself and others. It also includes my service and volunteer time to the community. Each person will describe their work and career differently. However, it is where we invest most of our time in this society. I needed a perspective on this tier, because often I make it be my number one priority, while neglecting self care. It has been important for me to realize that my work will always be there. I can pick it up when I need to, but also put it down when it is time to re-charge.
All these tiers are interconnected and if I drew it out on a whiteboard, I would see how they all support each other. For example, being successful in my career (Tier 3) helps me manage my finances which supports Tier 1. Get the idea? Can’t have one without the other!
However for me the bottom line is without self care, I don’t manage my life very well. And so I see a need to retrain my patterns, habits and thoughts to think self care FIRST, and then the second and third tiers can come into line.
In looking at it from this perspective then I can see where the holes are and what areas in the first tier need improvement. That means working closer with an accountant, and getting a solid exercise plan in action. It also means that I need more help in tier one. I have struggled with getting healthy consistent food in my house. I finally hired a personal shopper to get that part done. She is saving me money (too many trips to Albertsons) and time.
It takes awareness to know what areas of your life are noisy and are creating a road block. This system of evaluating where I am at, and what I need to do about it, seems to work for me.
When it comes to achieving some sort of life balance, each person will need to find out what will work for them. I heard a woman once say that she felt that life balance was simply approaching life from a positive perspective. I like that, and feel that for now, this system of managing my energy, time and attention, seems to be the most positive focus I can take for truly living that life of passion, freedom and purpose.
Sandra Wood is founder and owner of Inner Path Coaching, LLC. She coaches individuals who are struggling with relationships and career and want a balanced and empowered life.
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