Teeter Tottering for Adults

"Teeter Tottering for Adults" as explained by Ashley Hupp

In this article, the author Tony Schwartz traveled to Austin, TX for a conference to discuss “fueling sustainable productivity by balancing periods of fully absorbed attention with intermittent renewal”. He says that, “we need a series of deliberate practices to counter the powerful forces so accelerating our lives”. I found his choice of words to be very powerful and they immediately caught my attention.

We all struggle daily trying to balance out work and our personal life. Time. There never seems to be enough of it. So, my intentions for writing this post are to provide some insight into turning the dream of balance into reality. Perfect balance, I do not believe, is an achievable goal. But working to find a balance that fits your life and work is attainable.

One way is to say “no” Learn to prioritize and say “no.” Most of us are already on overload between work, school, family, etc. Most often,  we bite off more than we can chew, but  there is a solution for that. Are there ways to delegate responsibilities? Are there things we are doing that we can move to the bottom of the list to make room for what is most important? Say no to taking on new. There is already enough on our life to-do list, piling up more responsibility is just going to exhaust you.

Write it down! Writing out ideas or thoughts throughout the day will help to keep our minds from being on overload and will make focusing more easily. Creating more space in our days allows us to take a step back and refocus. You may be wondering how that could be possible with your busy schedule, but try fitting in small breaks to absorb everything. Studies show that human beings are not meant to multi-task. We do far better finishing one task and moving on to the next. The quality of work is far superior and we are more likely to retain what we learn.

Another topic the author brings up is, Revisit and Reevaluate. He talks about keeping journals and occasionally going back to revisit some of his ideas. Revisiting ideas allows you to look them over with a fresh point of view. Sometimes allowing you to weed out what will work and what will not. Never a bad idea to reevaluate your approach to a task or idea. And the author’s final piece of advice is to take regular breaks from technology. Disconnect. While trying to manage your time and your schedule, try to fit in breaks from your phone, laptop, etc. We are an era that relies heavily on digital devices. Getting away from those for even small amounts of time, allows us to accomplish other tasks. Such as, spending time with your spouse and/or children, finally fixing that leaky faucet, or finishing up the last few chapters in the book you have been reading for a month.

I do not accept that there is a reason work and/or school should overshadow other aspects of your life. With a little work, or in some cases a lot of work, I believe that everyone can eventually find their balance.