Harmony For Now and Beyond

Words have power. Our society used to use the term work-life balance, but the term work-life harmony is taking hold now. Work-life balance gives the idea of a scale with parts of life having different weights. I also think of this idea of juggling when I think of work-life balance. Maybe you are great at juggling, but I don’t know many people who are. If I have more than two balls, I can’t do it. Even with just the two, I am a mess.

I think we can drop the work-life and use harmony on its own. It is a powerful word. While it has a specific meaning in music, in everyday life, it means a “pleasing arrangement of parts” or “internal calm” or “an interweaving of different accounts into a single narrative,” accounting to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary. A harmonious life is one where you are present to specific parts at specific times. If we use the juggling metaphor again, in a harmonious life, you can put some balls down in a safe place and “play” with one at a time. That sounds calmer already.

Is there anyone who doesn’t want internal calm or a pleasing arrangement of the parts of their life?

I often find myself telling clients who keep more than one calendar to stop. We each have one life. It may have many parts, but no one part makes us who we are or is a complete picture of our life.

Therefore, one calendar or trusted system for one life.

We are all living in a world that isn’t what it was just under two months ago.

Asking yourself these questions can help you find harmony in your life. Dig down deep and be honest with yourself. There are no wrong answers here.

Who makes life enjoyable?
What makes life enjoyable or meaningful?
At the end of any given day, week, month, or year, what do you want to have accomplished?

If you don’t know the answers to these questions, you may want to reach out to a coach.

If you are trying to fit, work, family life, your kids’ schooling, and household maintenance all into your life right now, life may seem a little stressful.

Tips for harmony during COVID-19 and possibly beyond:

Have a nightly meeting with your family to determine who has what to do the next day. This meeting should cover school assignments parents may need to assign in doing, video call meetings, other work obligations, and anything else you deem vital.
Reassess daily – As we have found out in recent times, stuff happens that we have no control over. Being flexible in attitude will help handle life’s unexpected twists and turns. When something unpleasant rears its head, pause, take a breath, and then react.
Have open communication with everyone in your life. No one can read your mind, so you are going to need to spell out your needs or expectations for your children, your spouse, your boss, and your clients.
Have dedicated work and school spaces – while your life is one life, that doesn’t mean you should be eating, sleeping, and working in the same place. Locations do give your brain clues as to what you should be doing.
Body Doubling is an excellent tool for people with ADHD but works for everyone. Body Doubling is when one person is modeling what another person should be doing. Some examples of modified body doubling would include a parent cooking while a child does homework at the kitchen table, two people studying/working in the same space, but working independently or someone just being in the same room while someone else is folding clothes or cooking. I am a client who does household chores while on Skype with friends or family. She started this years ago. It works great.
Take breaks – schedule breaks to go on family walks or walks by yourself, kick a soccer ball around, or tend to a garden. A break should be something that looks different than what you were just doing, so watching youtube isn’t a break if you were just answering emails. Get off that screen to move!
Adjust your expectations – life is different and maybe for a while. It seems to be moving at a slower pace. Embrace it.