The Myth of Work-Life Balance

John Beeson asserts that work-life balance is an unobtainable myth, and that we instead need a system and support structures to help us manage our lives, tasks, and time. I couldn’t agree more, and I think there are immense parallels in the ministry world.

Here are some key thoughts in the article:

…modern-day telecommunications, the hair-trigger requirements of financial markets, and the pace of global organizations create 24 x 7 work lives for most executives. So, forget work-life balance and think personal organization and finding ways to relax…

…The first step in dealing with the workload is putting in place the support structure that allows you to focus your energies on key priorities and issues where you can add the greatest value to the business…

…Under continued stress an executive loses his or her perspective on issues and the ability to look at problems creatively…

While I disagree that the days of the two-week vacation are gone (I might be naive there), and also think we need to be very intentional in our chosen method of “relaxation” (think: sabbath rest and prayer rather than “relaxing hobbies”) they key point stands: you must find systems to organize your administrative type tasks, find a flow and rhythm to your day, and not spend the entire day “sprinting” at work.

In short, in our age of information overload, you must become a GTD master. I can give you tips on how to get started if you like.


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Comments

One response to “The Myth of Work-Life Balance”

  1. Brian Anderson Avatar
    Brian Anderson

    This is an interesting article. One area that is left unaddressed in the article is a sense of balance, not in terms of work/relax, rather in the terms of what are we working at: vocation/career, family, community, … I’d love to say my life is integrated in that my work life, parental-life, marriage, hobbies and community-involvement are all intertwined… but they aren’t. Balance, integration and periods of vigilant-focus one certain areas over certain times seems to be something I am eager for in my 30’s.

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