Article by Anna Letitia Cook
Balance – everyone talks about it. Are you balanced? Do you have work-life balance? How do you know if you have it or not? What parts of your life do you need to include in the equation?
Normally you need to think about the following:
- Career
- Money
- Health
- Friends
- Significant other
- Personal growth and learning
- Fun leisure and recreation
- Physical environment (e.g. home)
On a scale of 0 (not at all satisfied) to 10 (high level of satisfaction) where do you rate your level in these sectors of your life. You can use the Wheel of Life exercise to help you rate this. (Basically you draw a circle, divide it into 8 sections, one for each of the parts of your life that are listed. Put a 0 at the very centre and then estimate how you feel for each sector and draw a line at that level on the wheel – have a look at the example shown in the link).
Once you have drawn your wheel and seen your results, it can be quite an eye-opener to see your bumpy ride! Start thinking what you could do to make your wheel more circular.
Just by doing one or two little tweaks in the lowest aspects can really improve your feeling of fulfilment and energy – it can be the difference between waking up drained and miserable every day to jumping (well, ok, 
maybe only rolling) out of bed with a smile on your face!
Do the exercise and start smiling 
Bio:
Empowering women to discover what they truly want, instead of being stuck in what they “should”, Anna Letitia Cook is particularly passionate about mentoring women executives, and the 50+ sector, in finding clarity in their career choices to achieve freedom, fulfilment and leadership success. She created and became CEO of her first company in the entertainment industry at age 32. Midlife approaching, hungry for a dynamic change, she refocused her experience, founding WomenUP Ltd, focusing on the challenges of corporate gender balance strategy”. Creator of the process SCOPE for career, fulfilment and success, she is currently working on her first book ‘Liberate Your Career: The Women’s Guide to Freedom and Fulfilment’, with plans for a second, ‘Glass Ceiling Grans’, early next year.
On the personal front: Mum, ‘flattie’ owner, horse lover, ballet fanatic, hiker! Into castle renovations, sculpture, farming, yoga. Drinks tea…