Towards a better-work life balance

There are hundreds of youngsters and middle-aged men and women who now have miserable work-life balances. Part of this malice can be attributed to the terrible amount of work that gets to be done in the offices and factories, for as many as sixteen hours per day. The lure of money is go great that once people have tasted money, there are unable to come out of it. So, it becomes a viscious cylce.

However, one also needs to take care of his or her health and, to this extent, if a change of job -- to say an organization offering a five-day week routine comes up -- he or she should take it. More so, if the person is a diabetic or has other health problems. For example, early morning walking and exercies have been advocated by all doctors, for all people, including the most normal people. However, this is easier said than done. Endless meetings, punishing deadlines, dirty or unco-operative bosses, and such other variables made one's life miserable in offices. So, that small half and hour of sleep might as well make him or her agile.

Inadequate sleep is one main culprit in todya's times. This is exactly why one should take some time off and relax and little bit. Small exercises, like the bare minimum of yoga exercises are recommended by experts. Some wise organizations have made such exercies a part of a day' routine.

Yet another way of maintaining some balance is completely eat out, and avoid cooking at home, more so, if the husband and wife meet only for a couple of hours per day. This helps to take away some time, and utilize the same for some amount of sharing.

Most men are also willing to do johs that were hitherto done by women, like taking care of the child'
s homework, doing all the shopping for the household's essentials, taking care of all payments, and so on. Since the working wife is also subject to a lot of stress, this becomes absolutely essential, and cannot be wished away.

So, the key to a better work-life balance is to enjoy whatever little free time is available, and try one's best to spend that little time with the wife or husband and children. Small exercises could be done in the office itself, though if one could afford it, a little walk is also in order.

Yet another way of relieving stress is to develop a taste for music. I know several hundreds of men and women who have found solace in this. Carnatic music or hindustani classical music is recommended as these music forms have the potential of making the mind very calm, and peaceful.

Going to an ahram or an orphanage is also recommended. This helps people to understand the other side of life, and in the case of an orphanage, it will motivate us to do our bit to the society as well.

One of the things that we should remember is to plan for the very long-term, and the short term as well. For example, since the cost of individual houses and flats have gone through the roof in the metros, it does not make any sense to invest such huge amounts in such places. Instead, one can invest in upcoming smaller cities and towns, which are near one's native places, so that it becomes easy to keep a watch over what is going on in such places.

And housing loans should have a long term plan, like twenty or even twenty-five years. This will help one to space out current commitments, and also enjoy the income-tax benefit to the maximum extent. Since an assest is always and asset, it is wise to invest in housing plots as well, in the emerging cities and towns. This will enable one to have a peace of mind, as regards one vital need -- housing.

At any point in time, it will become pretty obvious that our work-life balance will not improve to any significant degree. The secret is to find out small spaces in our very busy lives, and exploit whatever little opportunity comes our way, to live a better life. Yes, the quality of life in urban areas will never ever improve beyond a point. The ever-growing traffic, for instance, will do no good, as commuting distances has become a daily boring exercise. Increasing complexities of work life have made the situation even worse.

Yet, it will always be fine if we try to find those small little spaces and learn to adjust. Those in the smaller cities and towns may be slightly better off as they will get to enjoy a far better standard of life than those in the metros. However, over a period of time, Coimbatore, Kochi, Vizag, Pune and other B-class towns will become metros, with the very same problems.

Learning to adjust is the key to a better work-life balance. There does not seem to be any other alternative.

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