Assignment #2 – Life-Balance Analysis

Here you see an illustration of my life-balance analysis form. The darker blue represents how much I time I feel I spend in each area. I have interpreted the work-aspect of the form to mean studies. And as you can see, my main focus is mainly on both studies and the social activities. After that comes the family activities, then cultural, intellectual, physical, and finally spiritual activities.

How to improve my development in needed areas

The spiritual aspect of my life is not something I devote my time to, nor something that I feel I miss. But perhaps it would be an interesting experience to try and use a couple of minutes every day for meditation. I might find it relaxing, and perhaps even helpful in managing my stress level.

Another aspect that needs improvement is the physical one. This I always find difficult, because I feel like I never have the time to work out. And yet somehow, other people who are in the same situation as me always manage to find time for this. When I feel overwhelmed and like I need to prioritize what to do, I never prioritize exercise. I always think that this is something I can do later, because it’s not really urgent. And I always do this despite the fact that I know it’s important, both for my well-being and for my concentration. So if I were to categorize my physical activities in a “time management matrix” (see figure below or p.122 in Developing Management Skills) “Types of activities that determine time use”, this would be in cell 3 – high importance/low urgency.

I find that things that end up in this cell are very hard to do. I keep postponing it, thinking I’ll do it later, not really realizing that later I’ll have other things to do, that will also be urgent. But I find it difficult to use my limited time on something that isn’t urgent when I have more pressing matters at hand. Perhaps in order for me to improve on this aspect of my life, I should make a proper work-out schedule, and try to stick to it no matter what. And it doesn’t have to be major changes, it could involve just taking a thirty minute walk, perhaps three or four days a week. At least to begin with. I think when it comes to physical activities, the small-win strategy is a nice way to start, so that you don’t feel overwhelmed about everything you’re “supposed” to do. The small-win strategy is about making a “tiny but definite change […] in a desired direction” (p.133, Developing Management Skills).

As for the cultural and intellectual aspects, these are not priorities in my daily life. I keep thinking that when I’m done studying I will have more free time, and then I’ll have a chance to develop these aspects. So at the time being, for me, these are categorized as low importance and low urgency (cell 4). But perhaps I would feel more enriched and enlightened if I spent more of my time developing these aspects. I could for example set a goal of doing one cultural thing twice a month, and try to read a couple of non-study-related books during my semester.

The family aspect is somewhat satisfying, because when I’m home for vacations, I feel that I get to spend time with my family, and when I’m away, we still keep in touch. But I believe there is room for improvement here. I could for example try to set up a regular time for Skype conversations and making it a priority to uphold it.

Things I could stop doing in order to achieve a better life balance

One main thing I could stop doing is procrastinating. When I’m feeling lazy and unmotivated, I will basically sit and do nothing (or surf the web, or check Facebook), while knowing that I will have to start working eventually. In these moments I am never fully relaxed, nor am I working, which in turn means that it is literally a waste of time. Nothing productive comes of it. I need to learn to separate my relaxation time and my work time, and not get stuck somewhere in between.

I could also learn how to say no, in regards to the social aspect. I always say yes to things, even when I know I may not have time for it, because I don’t want to miss out (and because it sounds like fun). This affects the other activities that should have priority ahead of the social ones. I need to realize that I shouldn’t feel guilty when saying no every now and then, and that it is okay to set yourself first.

My practice exercise of the day

For my practice exercise for today I tried to avoid procrastination. I made a list of things I needed to read, and sat up scheduled breaks so that I had a specific goal, and also something to look forward to. I felt that it worked for most of the day, but I noticed after a while that my motivation started to disappear. Eventually it became difficult to follow my plan, so I decided to go and do some grocery shopping, to get a change of pace. The fresh air and the fact that I was doing something else really helped.

So I will try and make time for other things than just studies and being social, because I realize that if you get too one-sided in your everyday life and only focus on a few things, you almost feel like you’re in some sort of trance. Changing your schedule, “mixing it up”, breaks that trance and might get you motivated again.