What can I do to create a better work-life balance

What can I do to create a better work-life balanceWhat can I do to create a better work-life balanceHow do I balance work and family?You dont At least not if you want to have a truly successful career/business and a budding family life.Let me explain.When people talk about work/life balance they are suggesting that somehow work, hobbies, family life, and social life are all weighted and created equal.But they arent.Theres no world where it makes sense to spend 8 hours of your day sleeping, 8 hours on work, and another 8 with your family.You have other responsibilities too.You have your physical health, need for personal time, self-education, travel, commuting, and a myriad of other tasks that fill your day.There are simply too many other things that need to be done to balance work and family.So what should you do instead?Simple Cycle them.Let me explain 1. Life as a spinning plateHave you ever seen someone at a circus (or more likely on YouTube) spinning a plate?If so, then you proba bly noticed that the hardest part of spinning a plate isnt balancing it Its getting it spinning fast enough that its easy to balance.Your life is the same way.When it comes to your work and family life, getting the plate spinning is the hardest part.Once you have a cash flow positive business that more or less runs itself, its easy to keep that going.Once your career has taken off and you have systems in place and people to help you succeed, its not that difficult to keep it going.Once you have cultivated deep intimacy with your wife or a close bond with your children, its easier to maintain that even during times of higher work responsibilities.So your job is to pick the ONE area of your life that needs the MOST improvement and focus on that until its spinning.For example, if you have a great relationship with your wife and kids but are only making $50,000 a year and struggling financially, then sit down with your family and explain that youre going to take the next 6 months to bui ld a side hustle that will give you AND your family more freedom and options.Then, spend those 6 months building a $3,000/month side hustle and then let it run itself while you refocus on family.Or maybe youre already making 6 or multiple 6-figures but you havent spent any time with your children and cant remember the last time you went on a date night.If this is the case, then take your foot off the pedal at work for a little bit and focus all of your attention on rekindling that spark with your wife and that connection with your kids.Focus on the area that needs the most work.Bring it up to speed, then refocus, and shift gears.2. Focus on the big rocksWhile the spinning plate analogy is helpful for you to understand why the traditional idea of work/life balance doesnt work, equally as important is understanding that NO MATTER what youre focusing on, you cant put ALL of your attention into one area of life without serious repercussions.So no matter which plate youre trying to spin you need to make sure that you always take care of the BIG rocks each week.Specifically, no matter what your 1 priority is right now you shouldCommit to one weekly date night with your partner NO MATTER WHATSpend the first 3 hours of your workday focused on DEEP work every dayExercise for at least 3 hours a weekSpend at least 60 minutes of quality time with your kids every dayBy making sure that you have your big rocks taken care of each week, youll ensure that no one area starts to regress while you attempt to make progress in another.Every area of your life should be moving forward at all times.Some areas will move faster than others, but they should all be moving.3. Create clear staffelung between work and family timeOne of the biggest reasons that people struggle to balance work and family life is that they have no boundaries between them.They talk to their wife while theyre at the office. They check work email while playing with their kids. They plan family vacations while tryi ng to write a memo for work. They take calls from clients while theyre out to dinner with their spouses.If you want to create more balance in your life, start by setting better boundaries between your work and family life.Leave your computer at the office and turn your phone off when you leave.Tell your family that you cant be interrupted while working.Set clear delineations between work time and family time and both of them will improve.Hope this helps.Stay Grounded,AndrewThis post first appeared on Quora.