Achieve Life Work Balance

If you're struggling with life work balance issues and thinking of making some changes in your work, instead of checking the top ten lists hyping the hot jobs of the moment, you'd be wise to consider your personal needs and values fist.

People talk about life work balance all the time and worry about ways to ensure their career and personal needs can coexist, but they often don't think about their personal needs when making career choices.

Here are a few questions to consider when you're looking for more balance between work and life:

Retirement Needs
Do you want to retire early? Have you made plans and taken action to fund your retirement? How long will you continue to work before you retire? What income do you currently need to be able to invest adequately for your future? Do you want to continue to work in some way after you retire? Will your chosen career allow you that flexibility?

Financial
Are you hoping to buy your first home? Would you like the freedom to travel? Do you have loans to repay? Would you like to support a partner in reaching an educational, career or business goal? Does your chosen career provide opportunities for salary increases? What are the top wage earners in your field making? Is it reasonable to expect you will reach the top salary levels and will that meet your financial commitments and expectations?

Family
Do you intend to start a family? How will that impact your career planning? Would you like to be a work at home parent? Do you need the time to support aging parents?

Lifestyle
Have you always dreamed of living in the country, or maybe in a big city? Labor markets vary for location to location, so your career choice could impact where you live. Would you like to have the freedom to travel? Do you want to ensure you have the time and money to participate in your favorite hobbies?

Personal Time
Are you hoping to work a straight nine to five shift, or would more flexible hours better suit your needs? What are your expectations in terms of the number of hours you'll work? Ideally, how would your work hours fit with partner's work hours?

Timing
What is your time line for achieving your career goals? Are you able to invest time in education, or do you need to begin a new career fairly quickly? How do your other personal goals impact your time frame for accomplishing your career goals?

It's a shame to live life entrenched in a job that doesn't fit well with your personal needs or allow you to establish a good life work balance. Take the time to consider your personal needs and understand how your work will impact positively and negatively on those needs before you make your next career move.