3 Work-Life Balance Ways For Daily Joy

Work-Life Balance is the way for daily joy and a recipe for daily joy helps too… Like this Almond Joy Smoothie reminiscent of the candy bar you grew up to without the calories and lower sugar.

These days, workers are choosing work-life balance, joy, self-care, and wellness. And some are consciously walking off the job for their personal lives, health, and safety.

You have to be your cheerleading advocate and make your best decisions for work-life balance. I know this from my almost two decades in DC working for Corporate America in tech companies, associations, and hotels run like corporate with little time balance.

(Reminder that you only get this one life).

And happiness at the end of the rainbow or sprinkles is something we all identify with and define differently.

In my early workdays, I soon realized happy employees don’t quit good companies and jobs. The motto used to be, “it’s hard to find a good employee,” and that seems to have shifted to: it’s hard to find a good employer. The roles are reversing in our evolving society.

How it pans out is revealed only after you take a job. Most jobs begin great. Like most relationships, where there’s the honeymoon period. And then the cracks become clear. You wouldn’t enter a bad one knowingly.

The 2021 Great Resignation trend is becoming a more defined movement with dissatisfied employees quitting. It’s not just one reason, but at the top of the list are better life and care, and overall work-life balance dissatisfaction (work misery, burnout, lack of employee care or concern, being pushed to the limit in work demands… and sadly, work toxicity, harassment, and bullying). Often these areas get brushed under the rug.

I know in my many management experiences, I often questioned demands, decisions, and lack of attention from the-powers-that-be, with no satisfying answers. For me, sales was a happier place to be because the role empowered me to make opportunities happen. And those were the good management jobs where I felt like a productive workhorse.

But not everyone is cut out for that work or the one they’re in.

Finding a good job these days is a diamond in the rough. And most are tough and will probably get more demanding before it gets better. So what can you do about a better work-life balance in those situations?

Lessons Learned: Creating Better Work-Life Balance and Happiness

As humans we have to find some joy in our lives, or we can break. Getting up in dread over our work is no way to live. And not having work stability is another tough place to be.

I’d been through the washing machine spin cycle (I thought), several times as an adult – starting at the bottom again after career switching and experiencing massive corporate layoffs.

In the post-2008 economy fallout, many industries fell apart like the one I was in. I went through years of the next phase (the drying machine years) where I found daily joy in the small things. Like a nice cup of chai tea. Or journaling. Seeing friends and volunteering.

And that’s how I ended up back to my hospitality roots where I left off and new opportunities existed (and now in life’s roll-of-the-dice 2020 uncertainty, is the industry that has been impacted the most).

Entering the dryer process lasted until the appointed time. I lost track of my age, as days turned to months. And then years. And I discovered contentment means happiness (and not what the strong-armed ego feeds you with baloney). True happiness and peace is from within and at the moment in the daily joy. You look out for it (and you can miss it in life’s noisyness).

I also learned patience (a virtue) in an impatient culture where Patience is a bad word. And where people show their impatience on the road and is part of the get-ahead mentality. People are irritated and angry and don’t realize it’s in the air. No judgment.

Love thy neighbor. We only see snapshots of people in time, and each person has the freedom and accountability to their own lives.

…and btw, have you noticed that when you purposefully let others go ahead of you in line, then deep down, you feel better that you’re sending good karma in the world. Your angel poofs out the ego critic.

Depending on how often you think to do kind acts, this can be your way or standard. The more you practice, the more it becomes what you see in the mirror and your daily habits. And you feel the difference between good and icky. It can be counter-cultural as we’re taught to try and be first, but you can realize where there’s misalignment between giving and getting.

And, you and I who are wiser, are looking to create more impact in this world and our lives. We are connecting the dots and letting go of disconnects so we can live our best life now or at least start the process.

For me, that starts in flow, getting in Happy Baby Pose, working out the neck and body kinks, and getting intentional in daily purpose. Something to fit in today at home if you need a suggestion.

…So, during the unfulfilling season (about a decade ago) after I started my yoga and quiet practices, I could find deep gratitude, contentment, be patient, and let go of judgment and complaining attitudes. And that became my way. It wasn’t in the things I had or didn’t have. It was a choice.

As with most things, it was in the missing pieces I had to search for and figure out.

Today, I’m grateful for that long season. The practices and attitudes I adopted help define who I am. And while that was happening, healthier options and new digital resources are available to us today (something else to be grateful for).

These days, it’s hard to be bored, and very easy to get distracted and not listening to our thoughts. Growing up we found activities with a radio, television, and books. And that was a lot compared to my parents age who grew up on less book options and radio only. There was no streaming (live or not) or doing online research… I know it’s hard to think of life without!…right?

I believe whatever time you were born into isn’t going wasted. You were born for the exact right moment that works with you and what you’re meant to do, and that you can make the most of every day in a joyful way.

On that brighter note…

Here are 3 ways to add joy into your work-life balance and day:

#1: Grow an Avocado Plant (A Healthy Reminder)

One day I took an baby avocado seed and grew it to an avocado plant. It’s such an easy thing to do. You don’t need a green thumb.

Here are the steps to how you can:

Rinse off your avocado seed. Peel off the brown shell. You’ll want to do this when you haven’t just gotten your nails done or have a fresh coat of paint on your nails. There’s no easier way to get the hard shell off but with your nails.

The bald seed will then have a peanut (light beige) color.

Then take a paper towel, moisten, and wrap over the seed, and place the seed in a plastic bag and a cool/shaded spot in your kitchen. Leave for a week or two, and check in on it by week two. You’ll start to see a crack in the avocado and a budding root. The fault line means birth is happening (a happy baby seed 🌱).

When the root grows to about a thumbnail length, place 3 toothpicks in the seed and prop over a cup of fresh room temperature water in a glass or cup. I use filtered water to give it extra TLC. The seed should rest about 1/3 to halfway in the water bath.

After a few days later after it’s gotten used to its new water, move into indirect sunlight. This is its new spot. Keep checking and filling the water to about the same level, and changing out if it looks like it has debris. If you notice any root rot, gently wipe off at some point. Gradually move your new baby avocado to a sunnier spot indoors.

After a few months or so, you’ll see some good progress with green leaves and a stem that goes up and root that goes down like described in the cute All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten book except we don’t use Styrofoam cups anymore for environmental reasons 😉. And we DO need to know a lot more!

Daily you can look at your avocado plant progress when you check in on it and be reminded of your growth and progress you’ve made.

Another joyful moment for better work-life balance you can experience is making this delicious beverage…

#2: Almond Joy-Full Drink

The main ingredient for a magical Almond Joy chocolatey-coconut smoothie beverage, is coconut flour, and  can be gluten-free. If you don’t like coconut, then make a chocolate smoothie without the coconut ingredients.

1 cup coconut milk

½ cup chocolate almond milk or cocoa powder

Additional cocoa powder

1-1/2 tablespoons of coconut flour

2 tsp almond butter

This is the recipe formula I use, but I think if you eyeball it you’ll do just as good. That’s something to love about smoothies! They will turn out delicious whether you measure or not because the individual ingredients are tasty (the parts make up the sum or whole).

When in doubt and you love the taste of peanuts, add more almond butter, or you can substitute with peanut butter, but do me a favor… use the healthier ones we have available to us these days where you stir the oil and peanuts and those are the only ingredients (not the thick ones that stay shelf-stable preserved for years).

So after you blend them together, you can have a fun tasting party. And to me, there’s nothing better than a celebration party every day!… and having planned thousands of other people’s parties, I know how memorable and joy-filled they can be. 🎉

You can choose to take a mindful break every day like I do. You can learn to slow down and enjoy the sip. Everything else can wait!

#3: Joyful Words

The word “joy” is used as inspiration words in the Bible and you’ll find over 200 verses filled with joy and wisdom.  I don’t know any other book that has “joy” mentioned more often in a wise, never-gets-old way. In the middle of the Book of Psalms (Old Testament), you find prayers, gratitude, assurance, and joy promises. Joy gives us hope, no matter what faith you hold.

When you fill your mind with positive affirmations they can crowd out the ego negative ones that can creep in.

TL;DR 💡

I always have so much to share (like 3 articles in one, lol!). So I stuck the “too long, didn’t read” reminder to impactfully say less. 😊

On that note, here’s the takeaway for this week:

Enjoy Life in the “Washing and Drying” Process

Use whatever life situations and the generation you were born in, to your advantage. Know you will come out better on the other side. From the spin and dry cycle, you’ll end up with clean, crisp, and dry clothes!

We are not machines. If our lives were as predictable as a dryer, then life would be boring. If boredom kicked in, then we want some excitement. It’s a cycle of balance (and the grass is always green where you are).

Life is not “rinse and repeat.” As soon as  you and I get used to a process or a recipe, then it’s time to move onto another one. Finding joy every day is what will make your life matter and help sustain you in finding your right formula work-life balance.

And you can do this with small things like an avocado plant, a smoothie and an intentional joyful centering practice. Now, go find your Happy Baby! 🧘🏻‍♀️