Work/Life Navigation--Renaming the Challenge that We All Face
Ircel Harrison, Coaching Coordinator
Since I began in ministry, I have struggled with what I have called “work/life balance.” I would imagine that you have, too, even if you are not in ministry. What I have meant by this term is the process of effectively doing my work while taking care of the other important aspects of my life--family, friends, self-care. Sometimes I have been more successful at this than at other times.
When I coach leaders, this is a topic that often comes to the surface. Busy leaders want to be effectively engaged in their churches or organizations, but they also want to have a life!
Ellen Galinsky of the Family and Works Institute has a different take on this that I was introduced to by Bob Johansen in his book, Leaders Make the Future. Galinsky has reframed the work/life balance challenge as “work/life navigation,” since real balance in the process may be impossible. The interactions between work and private life are not a problem to be solved but an ongoing, dynamic interplay involving many factors.
“Navigation” reminds us of whitewater rafting. There are obstacles to be avoided but there are also currents that can help or hinder us in the process. We have many choices, and they are always changing! Johansen writes, “Work/life navigation is a clear and useful term, since it frames the life choices of a career very clearly but gives lots of choices for individual variation.” This is true for other life choices such as personal relationships and self-care as well. How can we apply this image of navigation to our choices?
First, be alert to changes in your environment. In the workplace, it may be the impact of working from home due to a pandemic or illness. This requires new skills, adaptability, and willingness to take risks. In the family, the changing current may be a change in a spouse’s job, a new child in the family, or life transitions as children grow and mature. The currents in a river are constantly changing and new obstacles appear as we move down it. Be aware of what’s going on!
Second, don’t be so focused on a goal that you miss something important. Peripheral vision can be very helpful as you float a river. You have a direction you are headed, but what’s coming up beside you? In our relationships, this means constantly attending to significant others in our lives. Spending time with spouse, children, and friends is a worthy investment of time and may bring to light some things we are missing about ourselves. In our careers, we seek to understand not only the task that we are addressing right now, but the changes just outside our field of vision. What is important today may not be as important tomorrow.
Third, recognize that you are not always in control, but your response can avoid a catastrophe. When you see a change in the current or a rock in the middle of the river, what will you do? It is not enough to say that it does not exist or is not there. You have choices to make. We must face reality and decide the best course to take. Unlike floating the river, we usually have more time to make choices in work/life navigation. We can be spiritually discerning, seek out the counsel of family and friends, and evaluate options with mentors and coaches. We can choose what seems to be the best path and pursue it.
The river of life flows on. How will we navigate it? Enjoy the ride!