Work-Life Balance: Are You Grounded in What Matters Most?

Quick quiz – – why should I read this blog?    

• Do you ever feel stressed out from work?
• Do you ever feel a struggle to balance work demands with the needs of your family?
• Do you ever feel like there is “never enough” time to complete all your work?
• Do you ever feel like your personal health takes a back seat to work priorities?
• Do you ever feel like no matter how hard you try, you never get ahead with work?

If you answered “yes” to any of the 5 questions (or perhaps all 5!), then I believe we will have some nuggets to make this blog worth your read and help you navigate the challenges of work-life balance!  

Let’s start with the grounding fact that you’re not alone, and this challenge has been facing mankind for centuries. Even the wealthiest and wisest man in the world, King Solomon, had this lament in Ecclesiastes 2:22-23, “What do people get for all the toil and anxious striving with which they labor under the sun? All their days their work is grief and pain; even at night their minds do not rest. This too is meaningless.”

Hmmm, I can certainly relate to that phrase, “even at night their minds do not rest.” I spent most of my career with large organizations dealing with people issues. Talk about a never ending set of challenges!   Show me a process that’s working well, and introduce people to it, and you’ll immediately get some challenges! 🙂 I’m betting that your work has, at times, kept your mind from resting while away from work.

The Struggle With Work-Life Balance

In our corporate world, we commonly refer to this challenge, and the fact that most of us answered “yes” to more than one of the opening questions, as the ongoing struggle with work-life balance. Throughout my career I probably had more coaching sessions dealing with this issue than any other. Plus, I had the ongoing wrestling match with it myself. Thousands of articles and books have been written and many more thousands of coaching sessions have taken place to help people deal with this issue.

So when I saw an article in Forbes entitled, “Struggling With a Demanding Job? Use these 5 Work-Life Balance Tips,” (11/15/24), it caught my attention. Perhaps some new breakthrough ideas? Here are the 5 Tips:

1. Recognize the importance of balance
2. Set boundaries and stick to them
3. Learn to delegate effectively 
4. Prioritize your time and tasks
5. Make self-care a non-negotiable 

While I found the article useful and worth the read, I caught myself feeling like perhaps there was something missing. The more I thought about it, the more convinced I became that not only was something missing from this article, but it had been missing with me for most of my career in my coaching and my own application.  

Let’s go back to Ecclesiastes 2:24-25 for some more insight:

“A person can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in their own toil. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, for without Him, who can eat or find enjoyment? To the person who pleases Him, God gives wisdom, knowledge, and happiness, but to the sinner He gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.”

What I take away from this passage is that without God in the foundation of our life to give us wisdom in navigating the ever-present shifting seas and sands of life, we will never find that balance and peace with our work and the rest of our life. Even if I master the 5 Tips highlighted above, I won’t be grounded securely WITH Him to navigate the ongoing ebbs and flows of the work-life blend or balance.  

Personal Components of Work-Life Balance

Consider these 5 additional personal components as you think about the 5 Tips, and whether your balance or blend will be complete without them to achieve fulfilling work:

1. Purpose – Why are you here? Why do you get out of bed in the morning?
2. Mission – What are you here to do? What is it that you are equipped to accomplish?
3. Values – How do you do your work? How does your personal character show up in your work?
4. Unique Distinctions – Who did God create you to be? How can you rest in His sovereign design?
5. Sweet Spot – Where is it that God wants you to manifest His purpose with you?

If you reflect for just a few minutes on this, wouldn’t you agree that knowing these 5 personal components would be foundational to achieving a work-life balance? I’d encourage you to use the Ecclesiastes passage as a lens to think about the 5 questions, 5 tips, and 5 personal components.

And yes, we’re not going to leave you hanging with that! 🙂 In our ‘Hear God Calling You’ workbook, we have practical exercises and Biblical applications to assist you in developing and articulating your 5 personal components (along with more on your Calling!). You can find that workbook HERE.   

Also, if you’re like most people, getting some coaching along the way could be helpful. Talking to a Crossroads Guide and getting some additional perspectives and guidance could be just the ticket for you! Click HERE to request a Guide consult.

As with most issues in life, there is rarely a “silver bullet” that magically solves the situation. But I do believe that if we’re grounded with God’s direction and pursue the life course that He’s sovereignly created, we can then find ourselves enjoying Ephesians 2:10, “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things He planned for us long ago.” Blessings!

---

Dave Sparkman currently serves as the volunteer Crossroads Career board chair and local ministry leader. He is also the founder and managing director of Spark Your Culture, a corporate culture consulting firm. Prior to that he worked at UnitedHealth Group, a Fortune #5 public company, serving in the role of Chief Culture Officer. His unemployment experience came from the implosion of Arthur Andersen, where he served as the West Region Managing Partner, People.