Why ditching the work life balance is the key to a happier, healthier existence

There’s no denying that the world seems to be moving faster than ever before. With the acceleration of digital during the pandemic and social media trends moving at the speed of light, trying to find that all-important work/life balance is becoming increasingly more of a challenge. But what if we’ve got it all wrong and balance isn’t what we need to be striving for? 

Roar Magazine caught up with agency owner Amanda Perry to talk about a more integrated approach to life that needs us all to dump the notion of working 9-5 and living 5-9. Here, we catch up with the Sheffield-based entrepreneur to get her top tips for finding the perfect Work Life Blend. 

“I believe change is needed. Hustle culture has promoted a toxic approach to work and inspired a whole generation to spend every waking minute being ‘productive’ or risking the chance of missing out on the mythical rewards that await them somewhere along the path to burnout.

“You need balance” some claim and even some job ads proudly boast “We promote a healthy work life balance”, but what does that actually mean?

The term ‘work life balance’ was introduced in the 1980’s - a time when the expectation of many employers was that you should be at your desk until 10pm (not much has changed there then!). The term ‘last man standing’ was often used to celebrate work ethic and commitment to the role - and people who weren’t ready to basically live at work, were seen as a burden to the workforce. They’d get, at the very least, raised eyebrows if they dared to leave before 7pm and, in some cases, had their P45 handed to them while mumbling something about “bad culture fit”. Jackets left on chairs to promote attendance at all hours was the norm and getting ahead in the workplace was often at the sacrifice of home life. 

Then along came the ‘work life balance’ as a way to encourage more people out of the door at 5pm, in what would have been the 80s version of self-care. The idea being that it was your ‘right’ to enjoy life each evening … oh, and don’t forget weekends too! Two whole days where the world told you that you were allowed to not think about work.

Breaking that down, the expectation became that you’d be happy, healthy and fulfilled with 5pm-9pm every Monday to Friday and all of Saturday and Sunday too. Wow, so kind! 

When I put it like that, you realise why I’m on a mission to see the end of the notion of ‘work life balance’, right?! It’s old fashion and outdated, even more so when you run a business, but it applies to everyone. I passionately feel that this approach, which we’ve come to rubber stamp in society, just promotes the zero-sum game of being either at work OR living your life. When the reality is that we already spend NINETY THOUSAND HOURS – or one third of our lives at work – so how realistic is this? 

There’s a better way to do it and it’s a more intentional way to live. Just as the traditional 9-5 working day is outdated, so is the idea of this strange balance. Instead, we have to integrate our work and lives, and make each day work better for us. Of course, there are some caveats to this and people – colleagues, employees, family members – will have expectations for us to be readily available when they need us, but it can be done and let me tell you how.  

Here are my five top tips for living the Work Life Blend…

Tip one: Start with the end in mind 

This might sound obvious, but what do you want your life to look like? Starting with the vision and purpose for your life means that you always have a filter to run decisions through. Ask yourself questions like: “Do I want to start this business?... Should I take the promotion at work?... Am I going to relocate for that opportunity?”

Consider the decisions that you make in line with your overall vision and the answer becomes so much clearer. This will then help you through the days that feel chaotic and that you’re less in control. It’s not realistic to think that you can find a happy blend every day, but when you know the destination, the journey becomes much easier to navigate. 

Prioritise the important stuff

This is a really crucial lesson – learn the difference between what’s important and what’s urgent, what’s for you and what’s for someone else. 

There’s no doubting that sometimes you have to pick up an urgent task and know that it’s ok to do that, but make sure that you try and lead with the important things the rest of the time. This will look different to every person but it might be time with your family and friends, or just some alone time and self-care; know the importance in leading with these things and making everything else fit around it. 

Plan your week ahead

I cannot stress this enough but planning really is everything. This doesn’t make you boring or mean that you can’t be spontaneous, but taking time out to plan your week ahead makes it so much easier to find the blend. 

Get those important things booked in (see my above point) and then you can fit work commitments, tasks and goals around it. It’s amazing what you can fit into a week when you challenge the typical structure. Don’t assume that you can only do work in that 9-5 window but, equally, don’t beat yourself up assuming that working past 5pm means that you’re pulling an all-nighter. When you’ve highlighted those important things to you and made time for them, you’re going to be much happier and way more fulfilled when it comes to making the rest work too! 

Set boundaries

Setting boundaries is really important because it gives you check-ins with yourself. We all know how easy it is to give ourselves a hard time or push ourselves that little bit further, but set some boundaries that force you out of these habits. 

Unless you’ve planned a late-night writing session because that’s when you’re most creative, don’t allow work to creep into your 10-11pm timeslot. Ask someone to keep you accountable, whether it’s a friend, partner or family member, get them to help you gain that consistency with your boundary setting. 

Practice, practice, practice

We’ve been conditioned to work 9-5 for decades so it’s going to take a bit of time to re-adjust. Start with small changes that just make your life that little bit easier. If you run your own business, exercise your freedom and work out how little changes here and there can ease the pressure that you put on yourself every day. If you’re employed, explore how a change in working patterns might realistic work for you and your team.  

This is a practice and needs to be constantly tweaked and reassessed so take time to acknowledge what is working for you, and what isn’t - and tweak it accordingly. There’s no one-size-fits all but that’s the beauty of it; having a more intentional integration of work and life is going to help you get more out of your every day.”

Amanda Perry runs SOUP agency, a digital marketing agency that helps ecommerce brands supercharge their budgets. She shares daily business tips and insight over on her Instagram account @amandaperry, and delves into her 15 years’ digital marketing experience on The Amanda Perry Podcast. She’s also recently launched the Work Life Blend podcast, where she speaks to leading entrepreneurs about creating a life they love. Her first guests include Jules Von Hep (Isle of Paradise), Emma Jones (Enterprise Nation), and Nick Coleman (Snaffling Pig Co).