In this fast paced and ever changing environment that we live in today, are we not on the lookout for a leash to stop our life from falling apart?

Are we not in search of that ‘magic potion’ to enhance our life style?

At some stage, haven’t we wanted to scream, “Bloody hell, I have a life, too?”

Women, by and large, feel guilt ridden whilst away at work and aspire to pursue a demanding career. Am I giving enough time to my family? Am I being a good parent? Are my children being looked after and cared for? Furthermore, with the biological clock ticking women feel pressured to accomplish as much as possible, in a short span of time.

Hence this new age term ‘work-life balance’ has gained popularity and is being debated all over the world. Although this article may seem women centric it is not so, as it is equally important for men to understand this concept. Only then they will be able to support their spouse or partner.

As opposed to all other finer qualities that human beings possess, we are nevertheless quite vulnerable when it comes to making choices. We worry too much about the repercussions resulting out of our choices. No matter how good we are in being able to adapt to changes, we tend to waver or lose our cool when the daily grind gets the better of us.

What is the purpose of life, the end goal?

Most of us would vote for happiness, a sense of well-being, isn’t? We seek this in various ways - family, health, career, relationships, wealth and a harmonious blend of all these factors. To achieve this we try to work our way around the attractive yet elusive ‘work-life balance.’ We aspire for this magical space and try to come up with ways and means to find equilibrium in our life. We rejig our priorities and keep doing so until that divine balance is struck.

The irony being that just as we think we are nearing our goal post, something crops up and the scale is tilted as we struggle to bring it all back in position. This funda although may seem crystal clear it is not quite so, because of a paradigm shift in our priorities, owing to fluidity in the surroundings that we are exposed to. This may also vary from person to person.

Starting from Wikipedia, there are so many definitions on ‘work-life balance.’

The main challenge is to understand and determine as to how this can be implemented. There is no standard rule. Each one of us have to discover this balance depending on what suits us the most, what our priorities are and have confidence in the choices we make.

Working from home and having flexible jobs is getting very popular amongst the millennials. This could be a probable solution to achieving a ‘work-life’ balance. The flip side being that we unwittingly con ourselves into becoming full time workers as laptop becomes our soulmate. We have to draw a line that prevents us from turning into workaholics or use work as an escape.

To gear ourselves towards this new age funda, here are a few pointers, based on my own experience.

We need to be extremely level headed and centred to have the ability to define our priorities and keep fine tuning them, both at workplace and home. This will help in making the right choice that we could look back and feel happy and content. In order to find the equilibrium within ourselves we can resort to any form of exercise viz. tai chi, yoga, martial arts, pilates, Zumba , aerobics, salsa…..anything that will release those happy hormones.

‘Work expands with the amount of time available’ and ‘talent is inherent but skill can be acquired with practice.’ Hence time management is an astute skill that has to be cultivated in order to cope up better. By doing this, we can gear up to include hobbies and fitness regime in our weekly routine.

Seek guidance and help from spouse and people at work, when you feel overburdened. Trying to be a superwoman is an illusion not worth going after.

A harmonious balance between personal choices, growth, career, relationships, family, home, friends and social network has to be worked out. In this vastly disconnected world where social media has overtaken those chai and gupshups, we must strive to connect to friends and relatives. It is proven that those who regularly bond with friends and have a wide social circle, show lesser levels of stress than others who keep to themselves.

The millennials are raring to go. We have one life, why not live it to the fullest?