Has your life fallen out of balance? Does your work-at-home job have you sitting at a desk all day, snacking in the kitchen, and working late? Do you feel like you\u2019ve lost your spark in life?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In today\u2019s world more than ever, people\u2019s lives are falling out of balance. The COVID-19 pandemic has blurred the line between personal and professional lives, disrupted sleep patterns, increased depression rates, and caused many to gain weight. But it doesn\u2019t have to be that way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here is how you can start working towards a more balanced lifestyle, one step at a time<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n When you think of a balanced lifestyle, work-life balance is probably the first thing that comes to mind. By setting up your professional life to make space for balance in your personal life, it will be easier for critical things\u2014like physical and mental health\u2014to follow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the signs of an unbalanced lifestyle is workaholism. Robin Sharma\u2019s fable The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari<\/em><\/a> shows a perfect example of the dangers of your work-life balance falling apart. In the book, the main character <\/em>Julian\u2019s life at the beginning of this story is what many people dream of having for themselves. By working hard, he\u2019s become rich and well-known in his profession. He has every material possession that most of us could ever want. In other words, by any typical measure, Julian Mantle<\/a> is \u201csuccessful.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n However, as you soon see, his workaholic life isn\u2019t something that people should aspire to. Julian finds himself feeling unfulfilled in his personal life and exhausted due to overwork. <\/strong>Among other messages, Sharma is trying to teach readers that to be successful in life doesn\u2019t have to mean that you devote your life to your work and to making money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The American Psychological Association (APA)<\/a>\u2019s research backs up Sharma\u2019s message. They report that workaholism has negative impacts on physical and mental health\u2014largely due to stress\u2014as well as negative impacts on the workaholic\u2019s relationships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Are you wondering whether you might be a workaholic? Psychotherapist Ana Jovanovic offers 5 warning signs of workaholism<\/a>, and some first steps you can take to adjust your relationship with your work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In his book Eat That Frog!<\/em><\/a>, <\/em>self-development author Brian Tracy says that to achieve a work-life balance<\/a>, you must determine the three things you do at work that account for the majority of the value you contribute. Focus each day on completing the most important things at work, so you have time to do what brings you happiness and satisfaction in your personal life. Your goal should be to do your best at work while not losing sight of the reasons you\u2019re working: to have strong relationships and a satisfying life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to avoiding burnout<\/a> and workaholism, in The Power of Vulnerability<\/em><\/a>, <\/em>Bren\u00e9 Brown <\/em>discusses finding meaningful work<\/a> outside of your job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nTITLE: The Power Of Vulnerability Meaningful work is any work that you\u2019re passionate about. <\/strong>While some people have the privilege of making money doing the thing they love, most people have to find this work outside <\/em>of their careers. This could be through volunteering, finding a hobby, or joining local organizations. For example, if you love performing, you could participate in a local choir or community theater. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Many people associate \u201cwork\u201d with money, especially in American culture. This causes many people to avoid pursuing their passions because they fear it will take time away from \u201creal work.\u201d <\/strong>For example, an accountant may ignore their love of writing because they\u2019re afraid it will take time away from the accounting work that brings home a paycheck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The first step to engaging in meaningful work is to let go of expectations, especially around money.<\/strong> If something is meaningful to you, then it\u2019s important. You don\u2019t have to make money doing it. While financial factors may keep you from investing all <\/em>of your time into your passions, finding some time for meaningful work will provide fulfillment and purpose and lead you in the direction towards a more balanced lifestyle. <\/p>\n\n\n\n On the other side, if you have a career in something that you\u2019re passionate about, embrace that the work isn\u2019t <\/strong>always <\/em><\/strong>going to feel fulfilling.<\/strong> It\u2019s okay for your work to occasionally feel like a chore. You can find meaning in your work and dislike aspects of the process. If you\u2019re able to make money doing something that you love, it\u2019s usually worth the moments of frustration. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In the U.S., people often associate identity with career. <\/strong>In fact, one of the first questions Americans ask when they meet someone is, \u201cWhat do you do?\u201d When people respond, they usually say the thing that makes them money, not necessarily the thing that brings them joy. For example, a banker who has a passion for making handmade furniture would likely respond to the question, \u201cWhat do you do?\u201d with \u201cI\u2019m a banker,\u201d not \u201cI make furniture.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n While it may not be the norm in American society, it can be fulfilling to identify with the things that bring you joy instead of the career that provides an income, especially if those two things don\u2019t align. Next time someone asks you, \u201cWhat do you do?\u201d, try responding with your passion instead of your career, and see how that changes the dynamic of the conversation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Maintaining a balanced lifestyle isn\u2019t just about balancing your work life with your hobbies. A large part of finding balance in your life has to do with physical health\u2014getting enough sleep, eating a balanced diet, and finding time to exercise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When addressing your physical and mental health, the first factor you should consider is whether or not you\u2019re getting enough sleep. In today\u2019s world, people tend to see sleep deprivation as an achievement. It\u2019s not uncommon to hear somebody say something along the lines of, \u201cI only got four hours of sleep last night and I still managed to deliver the project today\u201d as if that\u2019s something to be proud of. <\/p>\n\n\n\n However, it\u2019s likely that that person could have completed much more had they not deprived themselves of sleep. In his book Why We Sleep<\/em><\/a>, <\/em>Matthew Walker says that getting good sleep improves your brain in three ways:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \r\nTITLE: Why We Sleep 1. Sleep deprivation worsens attention and concentration. <\/strong>Performance progressively worsens with greater sleep deficit, which is <\/strong>especially harmful for those who are performing high-risk activities like driving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2. Sleep deprivation worsens emotional control. <\/strong>Walker says that when you\u2019re sleep deprived, your amygdala (the part of your brain that controls emotion) can run amok, leading to 60% more emotional reactivity<\/strong>. Sleep disruption is a common symptom of all mood disorders. <\/p>\n\n\n\n 3. Sleep deprivation may contribute to Alzheimer\u2019s<\/strong>. Sleep loss may disrupt memory formation<\/a> as well as the glymphatic cleanup system, which clears out Alzheimer\u2019s-associated plaques. (Shortform note: A study suggests that sleeping on your side can help decrease the chances of developing Alzheimer\u2019s<\/a> and other neurological diseases.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Walker provides a number of tips on how you can start getting better, less interrupted sleep. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to the reasons stated above, sleep can also help you maintain a balanced lifestyle in another way: It can improve your ability to make better decisions<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n According to Kelly McGonigal in her book The Willpower Instinct<\/em><\/a>, feeling fatigued depletes your willpower and makes it difficult to focus your attention, control your emotions<\/a>, and ignore cravings. Being sleep-deprived is roughly equivalent to being mildly intoxicated\u2014your prefrontal cortex is impaired, and you can\u2019t make good choices<\/a>. <\/strong>Many Americans are chronically sleep-deprived, which leads to willpower failure, which then cascades into depression, shame, or guilt. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The research: <\/strong>According to a study by the National Sleep Foundation, in 2008 Americans got an average two hours less sleep each night than they did in 1960. <\/strong>Some scientists correlate a lack of sleep with a propensity for obesity\u2014people who sleep fewer than six hours per night tend to have a higher obesity rate. (Lack of sleep interferes with how the brain and body use energy.) <\/p>\n\n\n\n A few studies suggest that what matters the most is the number of hours you are awake. In other words, if you’ve had a bad night’s sleep, break up your day with a nap in the middle, and your brain will function better. <\/p>\n\n\n\n While we\u2019re on the topic of how sleep affects obesity rates and your willpower to make healthy choices, it\u2019s a good time to discuss how your diet contributes to a balanced lifestyle. A balanced diet doesn\u2019t mean you have to start counting calories or give up the foods you love\u2014it means, like everything else discussed so far, you need to find a balance. One way to do this would be to make a checklist of good foods to eat before you indulge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In his book How Not to Die,<\/em><\/a> <\/em>Michael Gregor suggested, what he calls, the Daily Dozen. As a simple checklist for what to eat every day, Dr. Greger recommends these 12 components. Each box represents one serving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \r\nTITLE: How Not to Die Or, if following a checklist is too stringent for you, you could try Dr. Gregor\u2019s traffic light method for maintaining a balanced diet:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Green Foods: Unprocessed plant foods<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Yellow Foods: Processed plant foods, Unprocessed animal foods<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Red Foods: Ultra-processed plant foods, Processed animal foods<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n One thing you definitely want to avoid in a balanced diet is fast food. According to Fast Food Nation<\/em><\/a> <\/em>by Eric Schlosser, fast food has contributed to a national and global epidemic of obesity.<\/strong> In 1991, only four states had obesity rates reaching 15 percent; just a decade later, 37 did. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \r\nTITLE: Fast Food Nation The human costs are immense: severely overweight people are four times as likely to die young as people of normal weight. These health conditions are now increasingly seen in other parts of the world: between 1984 and 1993, fast food locations in the United Kingdom doubled, bringing American-style obesity in its wake. The British consume more fast food than any other Western European country; they also claim the continent\u2019s highest rate of obesity. China also saw its proportion of overweight teenagers triple during the 1990s. Meanwhile, at the dawn of the 21st century, one-third of all Japanese men in their 30s were overweight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So if you\u2019re looking to improve your health and live a balanced lifestyle, it\u2019s better to remove fast food completely if you can.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The final part of improving your physical health in order to achieve a more balanced lifestyle is exercise. Just like the last section didn\u2019t recommend that you give up all the foods you love, finding balance doesn\u2019t mean going to the gym for hours a day, tracking your gains, or weighing yourself every day\u2014it means finding a healthy balance between moving your body and resting it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the book Ikigai<\/em><\/a> by <\/em>H\u00e9ctor Garc\u00eda and Francesc Miralles, they assert that the <\/em>main thing you should do to ward off aging and stay healthy is to avoid too much sitting and inactivity. <\/strong>The hyper-sedentary lifestyle of most modern technological societies contributes to a variety of health problems, including cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, immune system troubles, a drop in \u201cgood cholesterol levels\u201d (after just five minutes of sitting), and even cancer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Similar to how getting enough sleep refuels your willpower to make good choices, exercise can do the same. Exercise is another quick-fix for failing willpower. <\/strong>Exercise has an immediate positive effect on willpower as well as long-term impacts. Even small amounts of exercise (like five minutes of walking) increase willpower<\/a> and reduce cravings. <\/strong>Long-term, habitual exercise increases both gray matter and white matter in the brain\u2014making your brain bigger and more efficient\u2014and enhances heart rate variability<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n A 2010 study showed that five-minute exercise sessions were actually more effective at stress reduction and mood-boosting than hour-long sessions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For many non-exercisers, the key is to understand that exercise recharges your energy and willpower. Unlike many other activities, it does not drain it. What type of exercise you do doesn’t seem to matter. Any kind of movement is good\u2014swimming, yoga, dancing, hiking, gardening, or even just playing with your dog. As long as you aren’t being sedentary, you’re building up your willpower reserve. <\/strong>Outdoor exercise (a.k.a. \u201cgreen exercise\u201d) has particularly good benefits for mood-boosting and increasing self-control. <\/p>\n\n\n\n When you take care of your body, your emotional and mental health improve alongside your physical health\u2014further helping you to achieve a balanced lifestyle. Eating healthily, working out regularly, and sleeping well give you energy, create mental clarity, and release chemicals in your brain that help with emotional management. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite the significant benefits of taking care of your body, many people make excuses to avoid improving their physical health, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Don\u2019t buy into these excuses. Begin the journey of improving your physical well-being by developing the habits described above. You can start by:<\/p>\n\n\n\n The final aspect\u2014but definitely not the least important\u2014to achieving a balanced lifestyle is to balance your headspace. A healthy mental state is a crucial factor in maintaining balance in life and there are many ways you can go about achieving that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It seems like everybody is raving about meditation<\/a> these days, but that\u2019s for a good reason. Author and motivational speaker Jen Sincero summed up the benefits of meditation well in her book You Are A Badass<\/em><\/a>. She said that the goal of meditation is to quiet your mind<\/a> of all the chatter so you can hear your inner guidance. Meditation is at once simple and hard. Sitting still and thinking about nothing is harder than it seems, which is why it\u2019s called a meditation practice<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \r\nTITLE: You Are A Badass With meditation, start small and work your way up\u2014five minutes is sufficient at the beginning. There are no rules or set ways to meditate, but doing it will drastically improve your life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Meditation will bring you into the present moment, raise your frequency<\/a>, open you up to receive unlimited information and ideas, relax you, relieve stress, strengthen intuition and focus, let you hear your inner voice more clearly, fill you with light and love, put you in a good mood, and help you love yourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Not every meditation session will be profound. You may have enlightening experiences or you may fall asleep. The important thing is to keep doing it. Even if you only reach the Zone for a minute, it will eventually start making a difference in your life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the age of always-available technology and distraction as a way of life, mediation is even more important. It\u2019s a break from the madness and chaos. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Basic meditation is quite simple: sit in a comfortable cross-legged position; hands on knees or in lap. Sit up straight; relax your face, jawline, and forehead. Close your eyes (or keep them open, gazing at a spot on the ground). Focus on your breathing. Release any thoughts that come into your brain and focus back on breathing. Keep your mind as clear and empty as possible; listen for flashes of intuition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In her book The Gifts of Imperfection<\/em><\/a>, <\/em>Bren\u00e9 Brown <\/strong>says that practicing stillness means taking the time to be still and quiet. <\/strong>This might take the form of praying, meditating, or quietly reflecting. (Shortform note: Research confirms that various types of stillness\u2014such as meditation<\/a>, prayer<\/a>, and mindfulness<\/a>\u2014can reduce symptoms of stress, anxiety, and depression.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Meanwhile, in Brown\u2019s view, calmness involves stopping yourself from acting on strong, reactionary negative emotions<\/strong> such as anger or fear: for instance, stopping yourself from reacting to bad news by lashing out at the messenger. To stop yourself from being harmfully reactionary, Brown suggests taking a moment to breathe before you react to things.<\/strong> This gives you the time to think before you act<\/a> and analyze whether acting on your emotions is the right approach.<\/p>\n\n\n\nWork-Life Balance<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The Dangers of Workaholism<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
How to Achieve a Work-Life Balance<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Finding Meaningful Work<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\nAUTHOR: Bren\u00e9 Brown
\nTIME: 28
\nREADS: 77.6
\nIMG_URL: https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/the-power-of-vulnerability-cover.png
\nBOOK_SUMMARYURL: the-power-of-vulnerability-summary-bren\u00e9-brown
\nAMZN_ID: XYZ
\n<\/p>\n\n\n\nSeparating Work and Identity<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Take Care of Your Body<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Stop Glorifying Sleep Deprivation<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\n
\r\nAUTHOR: Matthew Walker
\r\nTIME: 22
\r\nREADS: 75.7
\r\nIMG_URL: https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/whywesleep_cover.jpg
\r\nBOOK_SUMMARYURL: why-we-sleep-summary-matthew-walker
\r\nAMZN_ID: B06ZZ1YGJ5
\r\n<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe Dangers of Sleep Deprivation<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Tips for Improving Your Sleep<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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Sleep and Decision-Making <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Maintaining a Balanced Diet<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\r\nAUTHOR: Michael Greger
\r\nTIME: 41
\r\nREADS: 36.2
\r\nIMG_URL: https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/hownottodie-cover.jpg
\r\nBOOK_SUMMARYURL: how-not-to-die-summary-michael-greger
\r\nAMZN_ID: B00Y7USB14
\r\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
\n
\n
\n
A Note on Fast Food<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\r\nAUTHOR: Eric Schlosser
\r\nTIME: 29
\r\nREADS: 20.9
\r\nIMG_URL: https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/fastfoodnation-cover.jpg
\r\nBOOK_SUMMARYURL: fast-food-nation-summary-eric-schlosser
\r\nAMZN_ID: B003G83UI2
\r\n<\/p>\n\n\n\nExercise<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Overcoming the Sedentary Life<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Exercise and Willpower<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Stop Making Excuses<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n
A Balanced Headspace<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Meditation<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\r\nAUTHOR: Jen Sincero
\r\nTIME: 40
\r\nREADS: 26.8
\r\nIMG_URL: https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/youareabadass-cover.jpg
\r\nBOOK_SUMMARYURL: you-are-a-badass-summary-jen-sincero
\r\nAMZN_ID: B00B3M3VWS
\r\n<\/p>\n\n\n\nMaintaining a Balanced Temperament<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n