Work-Life Dependencies

A quick search on Medium will tell you that just about everybody on the internet, and their pet fish, thinks that the idea of work-life balance is nonsensical. If this is the case how do we achieve success in both domains?

Many of the aforementioned authors offer their perspective on how to achieve success in life alongside being a professional achiever. I struggled to identify with the examples used and felt as though I needed an underlying principle which could be more practically applied. As I have introspected on these suggestions and on my own moments of success, I have started thinking of the relationship between these two spaces in my life as a work-life dependency.

Work-Life Dependency

A quick recap on dependencies: I like to think of a dependency as a constraint-based relationship between two activities such that the success of one is reliant on the success the other.

Building on this idea I think there are activities (or outcomes) in our personal lives that result in the success of activities (or outcomes) in our professional lives — and vice-versa. These activities are going to differ for each individual, but what is important is being able to identify them and focus on giving enough time to what’s most energizing in each space (work and personal life) so that it enables rather than blocks your success in the other.

The illustration I would use from my life is the need for creative or ideative output in my professional life. If the balance of work I am doing shifts to the point where I have very limited creative or ideative responsibility, I struggle to feel adequately rested or relaxed in my personal life. If I am unable to find at least some uninterrupted time alone to process my thoughts over the weekend, I struggle to make meaningful contributions at work.

What I am not Suggesting

I am not suggesting it is possible to keep these important items in perfect alignment — rather that we should be making sure that we aren’t ignoring the activities or outcomes that are important to ensuring our overall success.

There are always going to be times of pressure, where we have to cut back significantly to give focus to personal or professional endeavors. As I identify my own ‘key dependencies’, I find myself more able to ensure I am not going for weeks or months without keeping contributions flowing from the other side of the fence.

Final Thoughts

There is a dependency between work and personal life. They aren’t separate and they almost definitely can’t be balanced; one feeds the other, and by ignoring one you in fact harm the other. Find the activities in each which enable the other and make sure they don’t drop indefinitely.

This is an evolving idea of mine, shared as part of my personal development journey. I would love to hear your views, ideas and suggestions.