Striking the right balance between work and personal or family life can be difficult for anyone, but women are most expected to achieve engagement and balance between all areas of their lives. Here, Ajanta De, the founder of InnerSight Counseling in India, gives tips on work-life balance for women.
Women trying to juggle work and family life have to contend with many difficult emotions and obligations, she says. Guilt often hangs over women’s heads as they worry that they can’t do justice to every area of their lives.
De reminds women—especially mothers—to keep in mind that there’s not going to be a perfect balance.
“It’s a seesaw,” she says. “Every day brings new challenges. There are going to be days when you feel stretched.” She advises women to acknowledge the struggle, accept it and take a step back to evaluate and decide what they most value in their work and personal lives.
It’s also crucial for women to identify the support systems around themselves, personally and professionally—and to be willing to reach out to them.
Perhaps most importantly, De advises women to let go of the idea of perfection and to accept that no one will ever achieve perfection—especially not in every area of her life at once.
“There is this need to be a perfect everything,” she says. “Let go of this idea of being a pefect anything. Just listen to yourself, hear what you want to be and just follow that.”
HerBody by mDhil puts out new videos every Monday, Wednesday and Friday focusing on girls’ and women’s health. Visit InnerSight Counseling or like their Facebook page.
