Work - Life Balance - 5 lessons learned and why planning is so important for a life with MS!

During the last 8 days I was working a lot. And it isn't over. I did a project with other people together and have to deliver today or tomorrow latest. 

That means stress, more work and be aware on deadlines and also about your team that you can keep your live balance. I thought that I am experienced enough to keep my personal work - life balance. And failed. 

Today I am sitting here, exhausted, with pain, more spasm as usual and in a very bad mood. I am a little bit angry to myself and I am so looking for some days off work now to rest.

Nevertheless I love my job, my own company and I am a person who loves to work in teams. Or with teams. Because it is clear you can't do some jobs alone. Some jobs need more power and a team in the back doing the thing. And it is ok for me to do a marathon sometimes work more and give more energy for a while, but when it comes to bad work - life balance, then it becomes dangerous and we have to review the situation and change things. Never let it happen again once it is over. 

During the last eight days I learned my lesson. Again or new. 

My most important points: 

1. Have a good plan in place. Know what you need when and how you integrate breaks

I always have a plan. My life would be nothing without a good plan because that means to be organised and have a look about resting times and how to move things forward. It is also important to have a plan B. Just for the case. 

Frankly, to have a plan is a challenge and to create one too. And it will be more challenging when you have to change everything because something goes wrong. When people you are working with don't do their job or find other ways and don't inform you. 

This can become a tricky thing and a challenge for yourself and your life with MS. It is one of this invisible symptoms people don't see. They don't see the need that you have to be a little bit more organized than others. 

2. When you work with other people, take a detailed look at them to avoid bad experiences or also more work and over-hours for yourself

It is important for us living with MS to work regularly and avoid over hours. Because of the Work-Life-Balance. You know that. We should avoid stress, take regular resting time and so on. We all know that great advice from HCPS's and sometimes also from our family members. And sometimes we are annoyed to hear that messages again and again. But frankly, they are right. 

So it is important to have a look at the people you work with. Check them a little bit out. What have they done in the past, what do they expect and how to they work. It is also fair to them, because maybe they have also needs? ;-) So to find out how somebody works helps to avoid working more as necessary and keep your resting times. 

3. As clients exactly for briefings and information till you feel ready to go

Sometimes it can happen, that a client gives you five words and that's it. Look for the rest by yourself. Or create something. But then it could be the case that the client is not happy. So ask, discuss and create with the teams together. Ask for their needs, wishes and expectations and see how you can fit them with yours. Then you create a relationship and make sure, that everything works well for you both. 

4. Also brief your supplier as good as possible

I love good briefings. Frameworks are helpful to navigate or also to create something new, available. The more details are mentioned the better you can fulfill the needs you might have, to make your client happy and help also the team to do a great and wonderful job. 

A good briefing can be magical and help to bring the best out of a project. Although it needs time and work of course, but at the end the ROI of a good briefing is visible and measurable too, because you can get more for your money. 

5. Don't get nuts if you feel like prayer wheel because of repeating some things again and again. Just do it

Ok, sometimes people need a moment more and some repeatings of a message. 

They need this to check out what is happening and to remember on details if it is necessary. So you start to repeat, and repeat, and repeat. And please, stay calm. Those people need this to safe the info in their brains. :-) 

And breath during repeating, this is something I experienced as helpful. Because you know the message and you have to deliver it, so stay calm and repeat. Because with being loud and angry and transporting that in your message, you will reach the opposite of what you want. 

And for the rest for Work-Life-Balance? Ask the others, people living with MS, carers, friends and of course family members. They know exactly what I mean and can tell you the advice, because they know it better sometimes than you! 

Have a great day! 

Birgit 

Test: Birgit Bauer, Manufaktur für Antworten UG

Photos: Pixabay.com