The Unexpected (but Necessary) Ingredient for Work-Life Harmony

A couple of days ago, I was on my usual three-mile morning walk and turned the corner from Cherry Avenue onto Ocean Boulevard. All of a sudden, out of nowhere, I thought, "Wow, I live in a beautiful town (Long Beach, CA), and this is a beautiful day." A moment of absolute joy, and I soaked in it as long as I could. Marveling at everything I could see and smell…

Because I didn’t have my phone in my hand. (I do carry it, in case of emergency, but it’s in my bag.) When I walk, I’m not listening to music or a podcast. I am mostly in the present, and that’s what opens up the opportunity to experience joy, if even just for a moment.

Aside from big events like weddings and births, you can’t really prepare for joyful moments like these. They come unexpectedly, and they can really put you in a good place for the rest of the day. Or turn around a bad day. Although you can’t prepare for them, you absolutely can make more room for joy in your life.

Why allowing time for joy is so important

These moments of joy are good for your brain. They help sustain you and prevent burnout. You feel joy when you’re with loved ones or performing a favorite activity.

These life-affirming moments generally don’t come while you’re distracted, especially by anything on a screen. They don’t come while you’re in deep work, although sometimes, if the puzzle is hard enough, the joy comes when you solve it.

Joy needs space. If you’re filling up your entire day with meetings and admin, you don’t leave yourself any capacity for joy.

Improving productivity to find more joyful moments

Maybe you’d love to have more joy, but where can you find the time? Probably at work, surprisingly enough. Many business owners work longer hours than they really have to. I’ve found it’s often either because they’re trying to do too much, distracted, or not delegating properly.

Multitasking isn’t actually possible if you have more than one activity that requires your brain to really show up to work. Your brain switches back and forth between the tasks, which is draining.

Instead, focus on one thing at a time. Bring your full attention to each task that requires you, the business owner, while automating/delegating the others.

Removing distractions is critical for focus. Research shows that it can take up to 23 minutes to get back to where you were on a task once you’re distracted. That means just three distractions, which could be as small as an email notification pop-up or your phone lighting up, cost you an hour of time.

When you’re fully absorbed in one task at a time, you'll move through the day much more quickly. Most importantly, you'll accomplish tasks in a shorter amount of time.

That frees up time to spend with loved ones and for your fun activities outside work. The things that allow space for joy to arrive. These things also, by the way, make you more productive because your brain gets to refresh and recharge while you’re having fun.

How can you make space for joy?

Try spending an hour today (or this week) without your phone. Turn off all notifications, just for this hour. Maybe it’s an hour for dinner, and all the phones are placed in a basket away from the dining room. Maybe you pull out an old board or card game. Or maybe you and your family go for an after-dinner walk around the neighborhood.

It might take a little more “reps” to see the magic happen, or it might not. Just try it and see what happens.

Related articles by Jennifer "JJ" Jank:

Productivity in the Age of AI

Self-Care Is Not An Option for Women Building Their Businesses