A Problem With the Quest for Work/Life Balance

Something More Than the Binary of a Work/Life Balance

Our culture is of at least two minds about work/life balance. On the one hand we praise the notion of a balanced life, with time for hard work and time for relaxation and play. And yet it is also the American way to believe that one should never stop working. Even in California, where the image is that for those privileged enough, one can lead a “good” life, still many people feel quite imbalanced when it comes to the equation of work and relaxation.

I have been thinking about this and realizing that maybe a pursuit other than work/life balance is in order.

Imagine for a moment that we have achieved this mysterious balance of “work” and “life”, but also imagine that when we think we are taking a break from work we are actually not taking a break at all?

What if we are merely switching our frenetic energy from work to other things, that also keep our minds active, jumping from thought to thought?

If this is true, it would seem unfortunate to work fewer hours, potentially for less pay, in order to not really relax at all. Doesn’t this create a double incentive to keep working longer and harder?

Instead of asking how do we create work/life balance, why not ask how do we create an individualized plan for the best version of rejuvinative time?