This is the heart of work/life balance.

Self Awareness is the foundation for all of the other Emotional Intelligence skill sets and the heart of Work/Life Balance.

Self Awareness is your ability to recognize your emotions in the moment, to understand how your emotions and behaviors affect yourself and others, and to know your strengths and weaknesses.

You can develop this skill set by spending time in self-reflection regularly.

Many people use a journal when spending time in self-reflection. They may free-write about what emotions they are feeling lately.

I found the method of self-inquiry powerful in improving my self awareness. Asking myself questions about my thoughts, attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors has been the catalyst for my own personal transformation.

Using my improved self awareness, I am able to make better choices about my time and energy.

I also recommend assessments to get to know yourself, your emotions, and your behaviors better.

I love the Clifton Strengthsfinder assessment for learning more about a person’s top strengths. Because I am aware of my strengths, I make decisions on what I do and don’t do based on both my interests and my strengths (or lack of strength). This helps me with my work/life balance because I am not wasting my time or struggling with things that I am not good at.

If you are curious about what your strengths are, I encourage you to buy the Strengthsfinder 2.0 book by Tom Rath at your favorite bookseller. Be sure to get a new book so that you get the code to take the Strengthsfinder assessment.

So, allow me to make the connection to work/life balance explicit.

How does Self Awareness help your work/life balance?

When you know, understand, and accept yourself, you can make better choices with your time and energy.

Stay tuned for the next post in this series!