#65 | Work-life balance as a fallacy?

"The term 'work-life balance' doesn't really apply to our lives."

How do you manage to find time for family, friends, sport or simply for yourself alongside work? With the much-cited work-life balance? In theory, it promises a good balance between work and leisure time. In practice, this works for very few people. So is this work-life balance just an illusion that hardly anyone really achieves? Prof. Dr. Daniela Elsner is a guest in this SMP LeaderTalk and confirms exactly that. And she goes even further: she throws the principle of work-life balance overboard and says: “Work is an important part of our lives. So important that we need to look at how much space it should have in our lives so that we are satisfied.” And that also applies to all other areas of life. 

"You have to paint your patchwork quilt with different areas of life."

Elsner suggests regularly asking yourself what you want from your life and how important the individual areas of your life should be. How do you do that? By tailoring your own personal patchwork quilt. Elsner calls this the 'Taylor-your-life concept'. And in her opinion, this is perfectly suited to a balanced organization of the time you have left in your life alongside your work. 

In an interview with Georgiy Michailov, she explains how this patchwork method can be used to create a balanced life in every phase of life.

"Work is the place where our self-worth is really valued."

This episode is also about the recognition and appreciation we experience through our work. How to achieve it, how we can strengthen our self-esteem independently of the outside world and how to write to-do lists properly.

*Video only in German