"There is nothing like work-life balance, there is only one life" - Padmasree Warrior
As more and more people work 24x7, thanks to the internet and smart devices, the lines between professional and personal, work and life get blurred. And without our being aware of it, the professional and the work side creep up to overtake the personal and life side. It becomes one life.
This truth hit Umang Bedi (UB) MD Adobe India, when he met Harvard Professor Clayton M Christensen(CC),
who asked him three questions;
CC: "What is the most important thing in your life?"
UB: "My family".
CC: "How much time do you spend with them not watching a screen or discussing logistics?"
UB: "Maybe 10 minutes a day,"
CC: "How much time in the 60 minutes a week do you spend with your most important priority in life, not giving them an instruction or criticising?"
UB: "Half the time."
"Is your family, really your biggest priority,” asked Christensen, “or are you making it sound good?" Bedi was shaken - he had been fooling himself along!
Call to Action
In the mad race to get ahead in our business or career, we begin to attach our values, our purpose and identity, to our work and achievements. All the while fooling ourselves into thinking that the family means much to us.
“You live life the way you want it. Life is about choices," says Bhaskar Pramanik, Chairman of Microsoft India.
Are you making the right choices?
Read a HBR article on making work-life choices:
https://hbr.org/2014/03/manage-your-work-manage-your-life.
