By Evelyn Jackson (CEO and Creative Director)

When working with individuals and companies, we often see them put business and life goals into two separate boxes. While this can work for some, through our mentoring work with businesses through Corporate Crayon and individuals through Find My Meaning, we know the value that having these goals can bring, personally and professionally. But, for almost everyone, it's a constant juggling act to find and maintain that work-life balance we are all determined to achieve.

From the outset, goal setting can seem simple and easy. And while it may be for some, it should be looked at as the big picture. Goals can be little things like exercising each day or skipping that third-afternoon coffee you really don't need, and while these add up, having an overarching life goal can propel you forward in your career and personal life.

Why is it such a balancing act?

But with that being said, it isn't easy to manage. Why is it such a balance? Why can't we do it all? How come it's so frustrating at times that it all seems too much? The answer is quite easy. It's because you can only do it if you know yourself. Understand and value what you want out of life, with reasonable expectations rather than what you're dreaming for. If a goal is not attainable, then it's a dream. More often than not, we speak to individuals who have dreamlike goals that are impossible to achieve, given their circumstances. This only serves the negative weight of energy in life and does nothing to drive you to go forth and achieve them. 

When you sit back and analyse what you want out of life, you have to be honest with yourself about what is important to you. What motivates you? Discover what you truly value. And more so, identify the responsibilities that you have. 

Step 1: Identify realistic goals

Identifying your realistic goals is the key to unravelling what's important to you. Start by creating your top three goals. These don't need hard lines between business and your personal life; they can morph together. Your goals should be easily compiled into a sentence or a bullet point for each. Also, don't be afraid to consider where you can gain support from others where you need it.

Step 2: Articulate a life goal

Next, take your three goals and give them an overarching goal, an umbrella. This is your life goal. Those realistic three goals should support your life goal; they should work in unison and harmony together. Your life goal should be something you resonate with and also something you can share with others. That way, you can turn to them when you need support. 

"I want to be financially independent so that I can have the time to be a mum, help others and stay healthy."

Don't get hung up on trying to make your life goal unique. It doesn't have to be. We know many clients that have a very similar goal as this one. But ultimately, your goal should be authentic, and it needs to be meaningful to you.

Step 3: Put it into action

Once you've conceptualised your goal, remind yourself of it daily, share it with those around you, and use it to measure your success. Remind yourself of this when you're working more hours than you want to, when you didn't get to the gym or when you missed a friend's birthday dinner. Ask yourself, why? Do so with honesty and kindness. While your goals should be a way to measure success, they don't account for human error and the not-so-great days that come with working towards the big picture. Being kind to yourself is important; professional or personal progress is never a straight line.

Step 4: Check in with yourself and adjust your goals where needed

Checking in is when you take the time to assess what you do every day. How you live your life and how you spend your time, thinking about what you can change to continue to work towards your life goals. This simple act of checking in lends us to make choices that support our goals. Not only this, you should adjust your goal where you need to. Life changes and your priorities will change over time, so your goal should reflect this. 

Discovering the right life balance requires us to have clarity about what we want out of life. It's us taking ownership of achieving a balance and holding ourselves accountable rather than our partners, leaders, or the organisations we work for. 

While these tips are simple at a glance, it's more difficult to implement them. With life being so busy, often we let it overtake what matters to us most, failing to check in with ourselves, leaving us to make daily choices that don't support our goal. Goal setting gives you clarity, and anyone in business should take advantage of it. Some very wise words from a mentor told us:

"Look after yourself first, and you will be able to look after everyone else in your life. Develop your own skills, and you will be able to develop others."

If you don't know where you're headed, how can you expect your employees to emulate this? It's important that you know where you're going through the use of goal setting so that they can follow. 

At Corporate Crayon, we help businesses of all sizes to find meaning through their work. So we're no strangers to the common tasks of goal setting and translating these into business strategy and personal meaning. At Find My Meaning, we work with you to discover what gives you meaning from work and in life outside of work.

Your journey from craving that life balance to having it doesn't need to be an enormous mountain that you have to conquer but more so gradual progress along the way. So get in touch with us and discover how you can find meaning and achieve your goals in both life and work.

Written by: Evelyn Jackson, CEO of Corporate Crayon, Mentor at Find My Meaning, Employee Energy Expert, Mum and life partner in training.

To find out more about how to find the freedom to work and live better, contact us at Find My Meaning today.