Work / Life Balance

Release Date: 09/03/2021

Adventures in Businessing

While there will not be new episodes of Adventures in Businessing, we are excited to announce a brand new podcast. Here is a sneak peek with our episode zero. Leading to Fulfillment is a weekly 30 to 40 minute podcast that highlights the impact of People-First leaders and teams where fulfillment is the true measure of success.. In each episode James Laws has conversations with leaders, entrepreneurs, and other thinkers from all walks of life and kinds of businesses to find out how they think & lead differently and make decisions that lead to fulfilling work and fulfilled teams.

Parting on Good Terms

Adventures in Businessing

O Oysters,' said the Carpenter,

Navigating Tension in a Business Partnership

Adventures in Businessing

Whether you’re considering taking on a partner for your business, or you’re well into one within your organization, tension comes in many different forms, from minor, slow, and creeping to sudden, impactful, and concerning.

Why Form a Business Partnership

Adventures in Businessing

Leading, planning, and managing-- while they can and have been accomplished by solopreneurs, it certainly isn’t easy. Is the answer to find a partner in crime?

How to Get the Most out of Business Events

Adventures in Businessing

In the last episode, our hosts discussed the importance of business events, their potential for deep thought, creativity, networking, and the additional benefits they bring.

The Importance of Business Events

Adventures in Businessing

We’ve talked extensively about culture in recent episodes, but what’s next? Business travel and events, that’s what! If done correctly, with the right goals in mind, business events can be such an effective tool for camaraderie, networking, creativity, inspiration, and fun!

Planting, Protecting, and Propagating Your Culture

Adventures in Businessing

Across the last few episodes we’ve covered all things ‘Company Culture’: defining exactly what it is, and how purpose and values contribute to, guide, and otherwise influence your culture’s development.

Discovering Your Values

Adventures in Businessing

Even if you’ve not acknowledged or prepared for it, values should drive your company. Whether you’re the person who established your company or not...you likely won’t be the only one who decides upon, contributes to, influences, and nurtures the organization’s values.

Discovering Purpose

Adventures in Businessing

Discovering Purpose is a fundamental psychological need. Without it we’re so often driven into the darker aspects of life: self-destruction, callousness, or outright apathy. However, it could be argued that with purpose we’ll never reach an upward limit of human ingenuity and potential.

What is Company Culture

Adventures in Businessing

Company culture. For a thing that’s become so ubiquitous in nearly all workplaces, why is it that so many of us are unable to define it, unsure of its impact, and unaware of the things that can shape, harm, and evolve it.

More Episodes

Show Notes:

[0:00:00] Intro | Brief Recap

A Look Back on ‘Humanizing Your Team’
Final Part of the Series on Distributed/Remote Work

[0:02:50] Work/Life Balance vs Work/Life Integration

“Work/Life Balance is a Scam”?
When we think about work/life balance, we tend to think of it as:
- “I go to work to provide for the life I want to live, and I’m trying to intentionally keep those two things separate.”
- - We argue that what we’re looking for is not necessarily “Work/Life Balance”, but rather Work/Life Integration.
Instead of segmenting your life into work, play, downtime, etc.-- it’s the complete package we should embrace.
- A huge part of this integration is catalyzed in being happy with your work and feeling fulfilled with what your work asks of you from a creative and productive standpoint.
- This integration will naturally look different for everyone.
- Does your life need separation from your workplace, coworkers, and to-dos?
- - Or is it that your work just needs to better align with your non-work activities, responsibilities, and needs?
Work/Life Balance is about drawing lines in the sand, whereas Work/Life Integration is about flexibility and freedom.
- Even with integration, boundaries are important, necessary, and generally appreciated by all.
The more you can remove “putting out fires”, synchronous communication, and immediacy from your work, the easier it will be to have a sincere and stable Work/Life Integration.
- All of which assists greatly in combating and preventing burnout.

[0:17:57] Work/Life Integration Still Requires Intention, Strategy, and Planning

Incessant roadblocks, waiting for others, and spending your time “task hopping” isn’t an integration issue...it’s a strategy and planning issue.
- Plan ahead, think of the resources you need, gather those things, then build/create, etc.
- - Need feedback? Don’t wait, hand it off and move on.

[0:21:41] Things We Do to Ensure Quality Work/Life Integration

If you’re privileged enough, having a dedicated space is a great boon.
- If you can’t do that, coffee shops and local libraries are solid alternatives.
Determine what is essential in your life.
- Essentialism can help!
- Then determine what you ‘need’.
- - Followed by what you ‘want’.
- What does your ideal life look like?
- - It comes from a place of privilege, admittedly, but it’s worth considering nonetheless.
  - This isn’t something you ask and consider once.
  - - Ask yourself often for alignment.

[0:30:33] Parting Words

Topic Takeaways and Last Minute Tips
- Protect your schedule.
- It’s okay to have bad days, weeks, months, etc.
- - Don’t dwell in it.
  - It’s ok to feel unprepared.
  - - But the time to start creating the life that you want is TODAY!

Show Notes:

TOPICS