5 Resolutions to Bring Life Balance in the New Year

Leaders run. We dream, we do, we act, we think, we work. This time of year, the overachievers among us make resolutions. Some of us keep them, at least for a while. Kept or not, New Year’s resolutions cause us to scan a panorama snapshot of our life as a whole. How well do all the pieces fit together? Or maybe they don’t. Would those closest to us tell a flattering story about our lives, or would we be a bit ashamed if the truth were known? Here are five things I am thinking about to bring some balance to my life this new year.

1. Turn off notifications — Multi-tasking is a myth. Each time our phone beeps, dings, rings, or vibrates, our attention is drawn away from the task at hand or the people in our lives who are right in front of us. Productivity is lost; but more importantly, relationships are interrupted and possibly harmed.

2. Examine the use of social media — Social media is not social, it isolates. On its surface social media connects us with people; in reality, our society is more isolated than ever. Social media has its place. But build the boundaries necessary to protect real relationships with the people you love, and remove the distraction that social media brings.

3. Get enough sleep — Pretty simple? Leaders tend to expand their important work to fit the available time. Since we all agree that work should not crowd out family time, we get up early or go to bed late to catch up on email or finish that last project. While this works in the short run, our health suffers and our minds are not as sharp as they could be. No one wins.

4. Evaluate the priority of family — This goes without saying, or at least it should. When it comes to prioritizing our family, leaders sometimes evaluate others on their actions, but ourselves by our intentions. It is not enough to have great intentions about prioritizing our families. Our actions must reflect our good intentions.

5. Slow down your Bible reading — The Bible was not meant to be read in a year. It is a book meant for lifetimes. Pick an area of the Bible to fall in love with. Maybe 2021 is the year of the Gospels, or an ancient historical study of God’s chosen people. You decide. Don’t let a “Bible-in-a-year” plan decide for you.

Leadership is not refined in times of security and plenty. Leadership is developed in the stress and strain of challenges and hardship, and we’ve had plenty this year. People are looking for optimistic leaders who can bring hope. God bless you as you bring hope to those around you and to those you lead in 2021.