Work-Life Harmony: 5 Tips to Feel Happy in Life and Work

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By: | May 20, 2021 | Tags: , , , |
work-life harmony

Do you seek work-life harmony?

Work-life harmony is difficult to achieve in the Digital Age.

Due to remote work, business people must learn to adapt to working online.

If you are a digital nomad, you work both at home and at a physical site. In such a situation, certainly establishing a work-life balance is challenging.

Creating a work-life balance can be difficult at times. When you have a lot going on in one, the other often takes a backseat.

Although that’s fine and normal for a short while, it is important to rekindle the balance between life and work. A work-life harmony often makes us feel happier and more productive in more areas. If you are feeling low or dissatisfied with your work or home life, here are some tips to feel happier. 

Image by RAEng_Publications from Pixabay 

By the time you’re done reading this post, you’ll know the definitions of work-life balance vs work-life harmony, the meaning of both, and how you can achieve work-life harmony.

Work-Life Harmony Meaning

Before you can achieve work-life harmony, you need to discover the meaning of work-life harmony.

What is the difference between work-life balance and work-life harmony?

Work-life balance and work-life harmony have distinct differences.

If you try to achieve a work-life balance, you strive for an even split: 50% of your life will be devoted to working and 50% of your life will be devoted to your personal life.

However, work-life harmony admits an even balance between your work life and your personal life may be difficult to achieve and strives for a blend between the two.

The concept of work-life harmony integrates both work life and personal life in a way that works for you. Both should fit into your life harmoniously even if there isn’t an even split. By striving to achieve this harmony, you can be happy in both places.

Jeff Bezos’s View of Work-Life Harmony

Apparently, the idea of achieving a work-life balance is controversial.

In an interview with Business Insider, Jeff Bezos declared,

“‘I get asked about work-life balance all the time. And my view is, that’s a debilitating phrase because it implies there’s a strict trade-off.’

Instead of viewing work and life as a balancing act, Bezos said that it’s more productive to view them as two integrated parts.

‘It actually is a circle. It’s not a balance,'” Bezos said.

According to the interview, Bezos went on to add, “The relationship between his work life and personal life is reciprocal and that he doesn’t compartmentalize them into two competing time constraints.”

How to Achieve Work-Life Harmony

Let’s learn how to achieve a harmonious balance of a work life and a personal life.

Speak to those around you

When you are feeling stressed, low, anxious, or unhappy in work or general life, it can feel like a good idea to hold it in. Holding in the emotions will eventually burn you out and make the feelings worse. Instead, confide in those around you and speak about your feelings. Someone is likely to help you and help you re-establish your happiness. 

For instance, you may have suffered a car accident that nobody knows about at work. It might leave you feeling anxious whilst dealing with the claim, which may hinder your work life and colleague relationships. Talk with someone about it and rest assured that a car accident attorney will do everything they can to deal with your case and get you the help and compensation you are entitled to. In no time, you will get back on your feet and feel happier again. 

Take a break

Working long hours can leave you feeling low on energy and lack motivation. When this occurs, it may be time for a break.

Even if you take a 3-day weekend, that extra day can help you recuperate your energy and focus on doing something you love. You may be missing out on your favorite hobbies because you are dedicating all of your time to work. Instead, take a well-deserved break and take time for yourself. 

Spend your downtime wisely

Feeling happy in home life will reflect in your work life. Thus, using your downtime wisely will ensure that you are happy when you are finished having fun or relaxing.

When you spend your downtime the way you wanted to, you will come away feeling relaxed, excited, or content. Your downtime hobbies will reflect your mood and this contentment will pass through into your work life, which will create a healthy balance and positive attitude

Avoid rushing

When you have a busy work and/or home life, you may feel like you are rushing around all the time. If you rush around, you will burn out quickly and not feel satisfied. When you know you have a busy day at work, then set your alarm a little earlier.

This will allow you more time to enjoy your morning coffee, ensure you are organized, or make time for morning mediation. Practicing waking up earlier will give you more time to take things slow and avoid rushing. 

Limit distractions

In both work and home life, we can give in to distractions. You may not complete your work tasks due to your phone continuously buzzing. Or, you may not enjoy your cooking hour in the evening due to the children running around.

Whatever is distracting you, try and avoid or limit it. Fewer distractions will help you to focus better and be more productive with your time.

Work-Life Harmony Poll

I asked Instagrammers if work-life harmony is possible to achieve.

Here are the results:

work-life harmony

As you can see, 100% of the respondents agreed with Jeff Bezos and expressed they feel achieving a work-life harmony is possible. Bezos objected to the notion of a work-life equal balance.

Work-Life Harmony: People Also Ask

Does Jeff Bezos Believe in Work-Life Balance?

No. Jeff Bezos does not believe in work-life balance, but he does believe in work-life harmony, a harmonious blending of both aspects of your life but not necessarily an even blend.

What is Work-Life Harmony?

Work-life harmony is a blending of both aspects of your life, your work life and your personal life.

What is the Difference Between Work-Life Balance and Work-Life Harmony?

The difference is the degree to which you have both, a work-life and personal life. Work-life balance says you need to have an even balance of both. Work-life harmony says you need both but not necessarily to the same degree. Incorporate both into your life to whatever degree both aspects make you happy.

Wrapping Up: Work-Life Harmony

In closing, the concept of a work-life balance is open to debate.

Readers, please share so people in the work force striving to achieve happiness in both areas of their life discover these tips.

I look forward to your views in the comments section: If the term work-life balance implies you can only achieve harmony if there is a 50/50 balance in your life between your work life and your personal life, is work-life balance possible? Instead, should we strive for a work-life harmony and not attempt to achieve an even balance?

Authors: Janice Wald and a Contributing Author

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This post was made possible by the support of our readers.

  1. Zenithtips

    Most of life is differentiating between a stressful life and stress-free life. Thanks for this article

  2. Ryan K Biddulph

    Excellent advice Janice. I spend many hours offline to sharpen my focus. Building my mind strength lets me find greater poise as I work, play and do all in between. For example, I spent the first 2 hours of today doing Kriya yoga and hiking through a cloud forest. But this is because I am in Panama. If I were back in NJ I would be doing Kriya yoga and walking around the neighborhood. Spending time offline making my mind and body stronger encourages me to listen to my intuition. My intuition always knows when it is time to work, and time to play.

    Ryan

    • Janice Wald

      Hi Ryan,
      I liked the premise of the guest author’s article: You don’t need a work-life balance since that implies a 50/50 even split. You need work-life harmony. I feel I have the latter. Even though I am usually working for my school or my blog, I have a harmonious blend of both.
      Thanks for commenting.
      Janice

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