Am I the only one? I can not seem to balance my life to save my life. And I do mean literally. I don’t know if the Puritan work ethic was injected in my veins at birth or if I just lost the ability to engage in leisure time activities somewhere along the way, but I seem to have a work-heavy life. Now granted, my life is enviable by almost any standard. I work independently and have lots of changes of scenery, but it seems wherever I go, I am working. Am I alone?

The idea of sitting down to read a book is completely foreign to me. It’s not that I don’t read, I do. I read on the toilet where I have a few extra minutes several times a day, and on the computer when I am taking a brief break from other concerns like teaching or writing. But sitting in a lounge chair and reading next to the pool or on the beach? I can’t remember a time I have done this.

Don’t get me wrong. I like my life, but I just wonder if I have somehow veered off into a path that is slightly less that ideal in terms of overall health. I tend to jump in with both feet whatever I do, which seems to be almost always work-related in some form or fashion. That work might be house, parenting, business, writing, or volunteer-related, but whatever it is takes up a lot of my time. Do other people take leisurely walks in the middle of the day or spend an hour reading a novel at night? I’m sure they do. Why am I not doing these things?

The answer might have something to do with being self-employed. I live in a realm where if I don’t work, then I don’t make money. There are no benefit packages and paid holidays or sick days. My income is directly based on my output and it doesn’t take long with this sort of arrangement to shift from casual to serious about output. So, that is one possibility. Another may be my marriage partner.

Ray works constantly at one thing or another, also being self-employed and also being one of those people who holds a certain disdain for sports and other leisure time activities. Why ride a bike for pleasure when you could use it to ride to the bank and get something practical done with your time? Why go to the gym when you could just go into the garage and move boxes and other stuff around that surely needs rearranging? In short, why spend time idly wasting time when there is work out there to do at any time day or night?

That is not to say that Ray doesn’t have fun. He loves to go to movies and to art museums and to flea markets. I accompany him on these trips and I enjoy them, too. So, I guess we do have some fun. But flea markets are for buying antiques which we will keep until we re-sell, which is in the category of pleasurable work. Art museums and movies…well, I guess I can say those are pure pleasure though I must admit that they contribute to my artistic writing bent and are therefore obliquely related to work, however pleasurable they may be. And, of course, we don’t engage in these activities every day. These come one morning or afternoon maybe once every month or two.

Are we unique or are most Americans work-driven? I suspect many are. According to Steve Yoder from the Fiscal Times, “According to the left leaning Center for American Progress, 86 percent of U.S. men and 67 percent of women work more than 40 hours a week, and American families worked an average of 11 hours more per week in 2006 than they did in 1979.” So, apparently I am not alone.

So, what to do? Balance is clearly needed. In that same article, Yoder points out that working long hours is not healthy, and that “A 2004 review by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention concluded that in 16 of 22 studies, overtime was associated with poorer perceived general health, increased injury rates, more illnesses, and increased mortality.” So, clearly we as a group have a problem.

But how to change this workaholic mentality? What does one do to shift and start living life with better balance?

I looked on google for this answer and found the most satisfying answers in an article focusing on Zen practices by Leo Babauta. Here is the gist of what it said:

Set one easy, specific, measurable goal.
Log it daily.
Report to others.
Add motivation as needed.

The whole article can be found at: http://zenhabits.net/4-simple-steps-to-start-the-exercise-habit/

So, the key I think for me is to start small on one habit I can develop that is more positive. That is no doubt a bit of exercise each day. From there, I can add maybe reading a book for fifteen minutes a day until I get up to some real leisure time activity. I need to do this. It is a better/healthier way to live.

I plan to read that article and start small. But I am going to start.

How about you? Are you troubled with imbalance? What have you done to get back on track? Please leave any thoughts or insights in the Comments section.