10 Essential Tips for Whole Life Balance (Not Work-Life Balance)
Are you juggling too many priorities, trying to find some mythical balance between your work and personal life? If so, youâre not alone, but the whole âwork-life balanceâ concept may not be serving you anymore. Just ask any mom thatâs trying to answer work emails in the school pickup line while another mom is asking her if she can volunteer for some school event.
Letâs be real: life is more than just work and non-work (aka, everything else). What you need is whole life balanceâa fresh approach that accounts for all the moving parts of your life, not just the hours you spend on the clock.
In this post, weâll dive into 10 essential tips for practicing whole life balance, helping you reclaim your time, reduce stress, and boost your productivity. Each tip will help you with what to do, plus an action step to help you to put it into practice.
These strategies will show you how to set boundaries, prioritize what matters, and take better care of yourselfâbecause a truly balanced life takes into account all of you, not just your to-do list. Letâs dive in!
Whole Life Balance: Why It Matters
Weâve all heard about âwork-life balance,â but hereâs the thingâit often sets us up to fail. It assumes work and life are two separate entities, like neat boxes we can perfectly balance. The truth is, your life is more complex than that. Work doesnât stop when you clock out (hello work apps pinging you on your phone), and life isnât something that only happens outside of working hours.
Whole life balance is about integrating the different aspects of your life so that you feel fulfilled, not frazzled. Itâs about showing up fully, whether youâre running your business, spending time with family, or carving out a little space for self-care. When you strive for whole life balance, you stop compartmentalizing and start harmonizing the different parts of who you are.
Itâs intentional living at its most satisfying â and when you achieve those moments of in-the-flow bliss youâll know it's possible. The glimpses will help you keep practicing and keep tweaking to weave more and more of that balance into your life.
Letâs explore how to make that shift happen with practical strategies that honor your whole self.
01. Donât Ignore Whole Life Balance (aka, the hustle mindset)
When you're only focused on managing work versus personal life, it can feel like you're always failing in one area (or maybe a few of them). You might nail a big project but miss a family dinner. Or you might take a break but feel guilty for not checking off more work tasks.
This fragmented approach is exhausting. It leads to constant context-switching, which drains your capability to make good decisions and process information well. In other words, it tanks your productivity.
Ignoring whole life balance impacts more than just your productivityâit can affect your health, your relationships, and even your sense of purpose. Chronic stress, burnout, and even physical health issues like insomnia or anxiety can become the norm.
Plus, trying to "balance" often leads to overwhelm because you're attempting to fit in obligations that you donât actually have the bandwidth for â like a 2 hour âmorning routineâ recommended by a dude-bro with no kids.
But when you shift your mindset to whole life balance, youâre looking at the bigger picture, asking, âHow does all of this fit together in a way that works for me?â and âWhat do I truly want to say Yes to in my life?â
Take Action: Brain dump everything you have on your plate onto a list or sticky notes. Obligations, regular meetings/appointments, open to-dos â everything. Donât worry about organizing this list, just get it all out of your head. Youâll see that maybe there are a few things you can delete or delegate. Holding all that information in your head is what is so exhausting. After the brain dump, you can assess how to take action on the rest of the steps in this post.
02. Setting Boundaries for Whole Life Balance
Creating boundaries is key to achieving balance in your whole lifeânot just in your work life. Clear, intentional boundaries help you protect your time and energy across all areas. This might mean setting limits on work hours (and notifications), but it could also mean carving out time for family, hobbies, or simply rest.
Start by identifying what truly matters in your life, whether itâs personal growth, relationships, or your health (donât forget sleep!). Once you know whatâs important, you can create boundaries that align with those priorities. Saying ânoâ to the things that donât serve you isnât just about work; itâs about creating space for a life that feels meaningful.
Take Action: Define your non-negotiables and schedule them into your calendar. For example, block 6-8 pm daily as personal/family time, the hours you need to sleep, and turn off work notifications during this period.
Bonus Tip: Block out at least 30 minutes each day as âwhite spaceââa time with no tasks or obligations (this is NOT also your lunch time). Use this time for rest, reflection, or a hobby.
See how I use boundaries to plan out my Ideal Work Week:
03. Time Management for Whole Life Balance
Time management isnât just about squeezing more work into your day. It's about making intentional choices about where your time and energy go. Whole life balance requires looking at your schedule holistically. Are you making time for self-care, family, rest, and creativity? Or is your calendar filled only with deadlines and meetings?
Iâm a big fan of Theme Day Planning - where you group similar tasks together for less context switching into theme days. But you might also consider time blocking or using the Pomodoro methodânot just for work, but for personal time as well.
Take Action: Print out a free weekly calendar template. Then take that brain dump list and group similar items together - like client work, household chores, content creation, etc. Schedule all the similar tasks for the same day and see how it works for you.
If it doesnât work perfectly the first time â then youâre normal! Look at why it didnât work and make small adjustments to try again next week (see our next tip for more on this).
04. Reflect and Adjust Regularly
Achieving whole life balance isn't a "set it and forget it" kind of thing. Life evolves, and so do your priorities. Thatâs why regular reflection is key to staying aligned.
At the end of each week, take 15 minutes to assess how well your week went. Did you feel overwhelmed or stretched too thin? Were there areas where you wish you had more time or energy? Use this reflection time to adjust your schedule and commitments for the following week.
Maybe you need to delegate more, carve out more time for self-care, or say no to something thatâs draining you.
Pro Tip: Energy mapping is where you learn what times of the day you have the most energy to work on high-brain power tasks, and when youâre not at your best. Sometimes if theme days or time blocking doesnât work, itâs because you tried to do a more difficult task during a lower energy time of day.
Regular check-ins ensure that youâre continuously fine-tuning your balance, so it works for your whole lifeânot just the to-do list.
Take Action: Set aside 15 minutes at the end of each week to reflect on how your current balance is working. Ask yourself what felt overwhelming or out of sync, and make adjustments for the coming week to better align with your priorities.
05. Self-Care as a Key to Whole Life Balance
Hereâs the truth: self-care isnât a luxuryâitâs a necessity for maintaining your health and happiness. You canât pour from an empty cup, and if youâre constantly running on fumes, itâs going to show up in every area of your life.
Start with the basicsâare you getting enough sleep? Moving your body? Eating foods that nourish rather than drain you? The key is consistency over perfection. Find small, sustainable ways to weave self-care into your daily routine, whether itâs a quick meditation session, a walk outside, or just some quiet time without distractions. It doesnât have to look like a long morning routine or hours at the gym!
Remember, whole life balance doesnât happen without self-care. Itâs an essential foundation piece.
Take Action: Start a daily self-care habit, like a 5-minute morning meditation or a 10-minute evening walk, and schedule it into your day to ensure it happens regularly.
06. Physical Activity: Energy For Your Whole Life
Physical movement is about more than hitting the gym. Itâs about giving yourself the energy and mental clarity to show up in every area of your life. Exercise is a natural stress reliever, and it can be as simple as a daily walk, some light stretching, or a short workout.
What matters is consistencyâfind a few activities you enjoy and commit to the time youâll spend. The benefits of moving your body regularly will spill over into your work, relationships, and mindset.
Pro Tip: I find I enjoy different types of physical activity depending on the season. I love early morning walks in the summer and yoga by candlelight on dark winter mornings. đHaving a few different activities that are available depending on the weather, your energy levels, and your mood sets you up for success instead of failure and shame because you committed to âwalk every morningâ and itâs 15 degrees outside. I put âmove my bodyâ on my to-do list instead of a specific exercise. Game-changer!
Take Action: Find a few different exercises you enjoy and pick one to do every day. Set a reminder on your phone to take a walk, do yoga, or follow a quick online workout.
07. Disconnecting from Work for Whole Life Balance
One of the biggest obstacles to whole life balance? Being âalways on.â The lines between work and personal time are more blurred than ever, which is why itâs crucial to create tech boundaries.
Set clear âwork-freeâ hours, whether that means putting your phone on silent during family time or logging out of email after a certain point each day. Disconnecting allows you to fully recharge and engage with the rest of your life. Trust me, the work will still be there when you get back.
Take Action: Set specific âwork-freeâ times in your day (e.g., after 7 pm). Use an app like âFocus Modeâ or âDo Not Disturbâ to silence work-related notifications.
Bonus Tip: Designate one area in your home as a tech-free zone, like the dining table or bedrooms. Use this space to unwind, connect with loved ones, or enjoy quiet time. In our house all phone and tablets get plugged in in the kitchen by 7pm each night.
08. Delegate, Delete, and Seek Support: You Donât Have to Do It All
Achieving whole life balance isnât something you have to do alone. Ask for help when you need itâwhether it's delegating work tasks or sharing household responsibilities.
Do you really have to take on coaching soccer? Or make homemade cupcakes for the birthday party? Or do all the research for your next getaway vacation?
Lightening your load allows you to focus on the things that really matter, without the constant feeling of overwhelm.
Take Action: Identify one task this week you can delegate and one you can delete â whether itâs a work task to a colleague, a household task to a family member, or an obligation you donât really have time for without sacrificing something important. Hand it off and trust it will be done, or let go of the guilt of saying No.
09. Preventing Burnout By Saying No
Burnout doesnât happen overnight â itâs the result of neglecting balance for too long and it sneaks up on you slowly â until one day youâre so overwhelmed and exhausted you dream of driving off into the sunset and chucking your phone.
One way to prevent it is by checking in regularly with how aligned you feel in different areas of your life. Are you prioritizing what truly matters? Or are you saying "yes" to things that drain your energy without giving anything back?
The better you get at saying no first, the less youâll have to âdeleteâ later. The next level is when you feel comfortable with your default answer being âNoâ, and only the special, intentional, life-giving stuff being a clear âYesâ. (This unfortunately doesnât always apply to work obligations, but thatâs all the more reason to practice in your personal life.)
Take Action: The next time you are asked to take something on (outside of work), simply say, âLet me think about it and Iâll let you know.â This will buy yourself time to assess if itâs something you truly want to do instead of feeling obligated to give an answer in the moment. If it doesnât work for you, âIâm sorry, I wish I could help but I donât have the bandwidth right now.â That answer is all that is needed. There are many ways to say No in a work settings, but thatâs an entirely different conversation beyond the scope of this post!
10. Practice Mindfulness to Stay Present
Mindfulness is a little buzzwordy now, but it IS a powerful tool for achieving whole life balance. It helps you stay present in whatever you're doing, whether it's work, spending time with loved ones, or taking care of yourself. By practicing mindfulnessâwhether through meditation, deep breathing, or simply focusing on the present momentâyou can reduce stress and prevent overwhelm.
Here are 5 simple ways to practice mindfulness:
Mindful Breathing: Focus on your breath for a few minutes, paying attention to how the air feels entering and leaving your body. This can help ground you in the present moment and reduce stress.
Body Scan Meditation: Close your eyes and slowly bring attention to each part of your body, starting from your toes and working your way up to your head. Notice any sensations without judgment.
Mindful Eating: Savor each bite of your meal, paying attention to the taste, texture, and smell. This can help you enjoy your food more and avoid mindless snacking.
Gratitude Journaling: At the end of the day, write down three things youâre grateful for. This practice helps shift focus from what's wrong to what's right.
Mindful Walking: Take a walk without earbuds and tune in to the sensations of your feet touching the ground, the sounds around you, and how the air feels on your skin. Itâs a great way to reset during a busy day.
These small, intentional practices can help you cultivate more awareness and calmness throughout the day.
Take Action: Practice one of the above ideas for just 2 minutes before transitioning between tasks. This helps you refocus and be more present with each new activity.
Ready to Create Whole Life Balance?
Whole life balance isnât a destinationâitâs a practice that must be intentionally cultivated and tweaked over time. By setting boundaries, managing your time, and making self-care non-negotiable, you can create a life that feels balanced in all the right ways.
