Obviously, I spend a huge amount of time talking with people.  Often that’s in coaching sessions but I also interview candidates for jobs, run workshops and collaborate with other coaches and leaders across a bunch of organisations and industries.  My conversations can tend to go deep, fast (who wants to talk about the weather, anyway?!?).

What I’ve noticed, particularly in this season of self-care / wellbeing / holistic health is that people often talk about seeking balance.  Usually that’s in the context of trying to achieve work-life balance.

That got me thinking……..what is work-life balance anyway?  Is it when you’ve been able to rate all areas on the wheel of life a 7?  Is it when you’ve completed four gym sessions and four yoga sessions in one week?   Is it when you’ve used your right hand as much as your left for opening doors each day?

You might have guessed that the pursuit of balance puzzles me.  Especially in the world of achievement. Some of the most admired people in our world were and are extraordinarily unbalanced in their habits.

Reportedly Elon Musk used to read for 10 hours a day while at school and later in life work 120 hours a week.  Michael Jordan spent his off seasons taking hundreds of jump shots per day.  Pepsi CEO Indra Nooyi worked midnight to 5am as a receptionist in order to earn money while she completed her Masters at Yale.

It seems to me, that imbalance may be required to achieve great things.  After all, each of us only has 24 hours in a day.

Certainly, in my life imbalance dominates.  My purpose, vision and immediate goals mean that I must apply a certain level of focus and determination, and sometimes even ruthlessness, with what activities I do and how much time I spend on them.  This absolutely means that some areas of my life that I consider less of a priority are relegated down the list or, in some cases, not on the list!

I guess what I’m driving at here is whether work-life balance should be the target.  Balance might be the label we’ve applied to the idea of reducing work and increasing time doing restorative activities but if you want to achieve something, I think it’s important to recognise that could mean you have to embrace some imbalance.

There’s lots of ways to look at this and alternatives to consider but my preferred option draws from the idea of Essentialism.  Greg McKeown wrote a fabulous book on this topic, Essentialism, The Disciplined Pursuit of Less.  It centres on the basic idea that you focus your resources (time, energy, money etc.) on what is absolutely essential at the same time as eliminating what is not in order to focus on what will make the best contribution toward the things that matter.

The great thing about Essentialism is rather than pursuing this ambiguous idea of balance, first it makes sense to consider what is important to you and then focus on that or as McKeown writes, “discern the vital few from the trivial many”.

Of course, the vital few can include restorative activities (mine do!) which you prioritise and make time for and don’t allow interruptions or over-bookings.  That’s the wonderful tool of Essentialism – you consciously decide what is important and non-negotiable.

An added bonus, in my view, is the clarity and execution that Essentialism brings.  Decision-making becomes straightforward because you already know what’s important.  Achievement increases because you’re less easily distracted.  Quality of life is exponentially improved because you live on your terms.

Where does that leave balance, then?  In my view……..overused and misappropriated.

What do you think?  Have we got caught up with a new-agey, meaningless pursuit?  Or is balance, in your context an important framework?