The Rat-race Called ‘Life’
Life has become the story of The Pied Piper. Ambitions, goals and expectations have become the Piper who is drawing this mankind to its end. Who is thinking about Work & Life balance? As soon as we open our eyes in the morning, the first thing we all do is check our emails. With half an eye open as I glide towards freshening up, I read my mails and start thinking of all the replies I have to compose and the meetings I have to attend. My partner as well, though sulkily, gets down to the preparation for his day that lies ahead.
As we part our ways to each of our offices, we automatically assume a different role of working professionals, by totally forgetting about our lives and its other basic responsibilities towards staying safe and healthy.
Belonging to the class of working couples and living in a metropolitan city of Delhi, survival takes a toll on our personal lives and good living. There was a time when we would let ourselves depend completely upon outside help for our daily living. (Thank God, it is still affordable here in India) However, it didn’t take much long for us to realize that this isn’t a long-term solution.
So, taking a charge of our household, we decided to bring some changes in ourselves in order to improve the quality of life we were leading. Though I won’t claim that we have attained ultimate success, however, we are definitely heading somewhere.
This post is for those working couples who find it difficult to adjust to the busy schedules to balance work & life and end up compromising on the quality of life.
- Outsource Help. Let’s face the fact here. It isn’t possible to manage and clean the household regularly besides answering your professional calls. Even if you don’t opt for one, there might be days when you don’t feel like spending another ounce of your energy on cleaning and mopping your place.Then there are days when you might be expecting guests over, and you definitely do not want to end up looking ragged and exhausted. So, rather than saving those few extra bucks, avail some help for cleaning and maintaining overall hygiene of your place. After all, who doesn’t like coming back to a clean and fresh house in the end of the day?
- Hire A Cook Or Not! I am self-confessed finicky person and I am not comfortable allowing everyone in my kitchen and cook on their own. There are set rules about what should be where and how they should be handled while cooking. For a fussy person like me, employing a cooking help is tossed right outside the window.So, if you aren’t like me then please go ahead and try getting a cook who will make and serve you the major meals of the day. Pack your lunch from home and eat healthy food regularly. It is OK to eat out once in a while, however, don’t make that as your daily option. You may not realize that just yet, but it won’t take much long for your body to give way to all those overtly spicy and fat laden food.For those who are like me and prefer cooking, there are some tips & tricks to make daily cooking a breeze. I will share a separate post on how you can make your daily cooking anything but a chore to you. Meanwhile you can stay in touch with me and check out my latest home cooked recipes here.
- Divide Roles & Take Charge. It is not possible to manage for one person to manage all. So, talk to your partner and devise a role division plan amongst yourself. If you take charge of morning cooking and planning, ask your partner to get the dinners done. If you are handling the financial matters, then ask your spouse to lend a helping hand in shopping groceries and daily items like milk, bread, eggs, etc.
- Restrict Courtesy Calls. Do you guys always end up paying courtesy visits to your families every other weekend? Or, do you have parties to attend every Saturday? This sounds fun, no doubt, but no doubt you might be missing out on the quality time spent with your partner alone. Keep at least two weekends per month for just laying back at home and catching up with each other’s lives.
- Plan A Vacation. Block your leaves well ahead together and take off to a new destination together. Set your emails on vacation mode and uninstall your office outlook app from your smartphone. This would curb your incessant urge to check mails every two minutes. Even a weekend getaway helps you align back to the normality of relationships which often undergo wear through the rigors of daily lives.
Related Read: Sarnath Travel Guide, How to plan a roadtrip from Delhi to Kolkata, Diu Fort – The Portuguese heritage in India, etc. You can check out entire Travel section at SpeakingAloud Travel. - No TV Policy While Eating. Already you guys have spent a better part of the day at two different locations. The last thing you probably need is to sit in front of each other while eating but not pay any attention to each other. Make a rule that dinner table should be exclusive to one another so that you guys can talk and learn about each other’s lives.Also, try not installing a TV in your bedroom. Trust me that is the last thing you would want to do! Or better, follow my rule and don’t buy it at all. What? That’s right, you read it correctly. You must be wondering how we survive! Well, I am perfectly sane and enjoy my decision of not investing in that idiot-box. It was a conscious decision, taken jointly by me and my husband that we do not require a Television at our place. Our basic reasoning was to preserve however little time we are left with at the end of the day for each other and hobbies we like to pursue sometime. This brings to the next point, hobby.
- Pursue a Hobby. Even if you are able to spare only a few hours in a week. Join pottery classes or take up some dancing lessons. Or, subscribe some DIY channels which would help you channelize your creativity towards something productive and beautiful. At our end, I indulge in some reading while my husband tries to re-kindle his long lost love for clay modeling and sculpting.Need inspiration, I keep on collecting some amazing DIY ideas on Pinterest. Follow me here.
These are some of the minor alterations in our lifestyle that has helped us infuse some relief and freshness into our mundane lifestyle. We often celebrate the Saturday nights as ‘Wine & Kebab Nights’ where we simply order in some food and listen to some Alan Parsons, Pink Floyd, or even Rabindra Sangeet with a glass of wine. Well, why not! All we do is discuss our days as passing by or those passed by. That brings about a flush of cherished memories and lightens us perfectly. After all, what else do we need in the end? Aren’t we running about from morning till night to achieve that speck of happiness in our lives?
Happiness is there, right about the corner. All you have to do is cut to the chase and grab it. Do what makes you happy. Have I missed anything? Let me know down in the comment section.