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Order of Operations for Work and Life

  1. Know what kind of life you want
  2. Know what kind of problems you are good at solving
  3. Find the sweet spot where your career plan gets along with your life plan

You’ve heard of work life balance? Have you met my friend, work life integration? This is when your work and your life actually work together to the point where boundaries are blurred in a good way.

Figure out the life plan part first. What would the “good life” look like to you? Do you like to volunteer? Spend time with family? Workout? How and when will you do those things while working in your passion and using your talents?

Knowing what’s important to you and what you value is one of the key components to finding a job that fits you “culturally”. If you don’t know where to start taking inventory of your values (and your strengths), there are plenty of online tools that can help you do just that. Here are two that I like:

  • Tony Robbins DISC profile – a free online assessment, maps your key motivators to four main dimensions. The profile also maps your affinity for each dimension when you are being your natural self as well as when you are at work.
  • Strengthsfinder – a tool produced by Gallup, and available by purchasing their book, Strengthsfinder 2.0 by Tom Rath, identifies your strongest areas and how to leverage them in the team and work environment. You receive a unique code with the purchase of the book that gives you access to take the online assessment and receive the results.

A Real Life Example

Today I spent all day with my family. I slept in late. I put a movie on for my kids. We played. It was a great lazy Sunday to round out a weekend where I worked hard and played hard. Went to some parties with friends and still made time for 6 client appointments (on Friday and Saturday) and prepping for my week. I don’t have to feel guilty about working on Saturday on my business or about sleeping in and playing all day Sunday because I designed my work life in a way that allows me to do that.

If you are clear on what you want for your life, it’s much easier to filter through the jobs that fit into your life instead of trying to make your dream life fit into a job. I wanted to be able to sleep in on Sundays and hang out with my family, so I found a business and career that made that possible and was in line with supporting those values in my life.

Try a self assessment (DiSC or Strenghtsfinder) and leave a comment with your results. What does your dream life look like?

 

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