People often talk about getting the work:home life balance correct but for some time now I've thought it is actually a three object juggling act as I think the 'home' section needs to also have a balance between family and personal.
It is without doubt that there needs to be a focus on family life but what about yourself as an individual? I believe that more time needs to be given to the 'family' but time definitely needs to be given to the 'self' in order to grow as a person, to understand the importance of 'family' and to focus on your own goals across your entire life.
Getting the balance right is always going to be tricky and everyone is going to be different as for some 'work' IS their life while others can be very selfish and just focus on themselves.
For me, the 'self' is triathlon and during training runs, rides and swims I get a certain amount of clarity in my life. It actually gives me a chance to think about my life in terms of my goals and where I want to be. These goals are not just selfish ones though, it gives me a chance to think about the children in my class, the other adults I work with, the house Siân and I have just bought and, of course, my family.
I know I need to balance these three areas in order to have a good life but it will always be the 'triathlon' that will fall by the wayside as the other two are just too important. This has happened fairly recently, I had three weeks of no training because work pressure was piling up and there were tasks I needed to complete. At least these three weeks occurred now and not just before the main event (the Monster Middle) but next year I must plan better, I must preempt this busy time at work and plan to spread it out, plan to get ahead of the game.
