Life Domain Balance: What Is It and Why You Should Care

Posted on August 09, 2021 by Tom Moore, One of Thousands of Executive Coaches on Noomii.

What is Life Domain Balance?
Life domains represent the main areas of functioning in your life, for example, health, family, income, social relationships, leisure time, work, sex life, housing, safety, self-worth, education, etc. We can roll them all up into what I call the big five: Spirituality, Family, Work, Health, and Community. Generally, these domains are not perceived as equally important. For example, you might hold family more important than leisure time, or you can see them as the same, i.e., “my family time is leisure time.” So, a balanced life doesn’t mean you treat all life domains equally. Instead, it means ensuring you have time to spend on the domains you value most and dedicate less time on the ones you value least.

Why It’s Important.
A healthy balance between life domains should be a priority for everyone. An unbalanced life presents many risks:
• Poor health: Working long hours without taking time to relax will take its toll on health.
• Unresolved conflict: A lack of balance can create conflicts at work and home.
• Poor performance: Overcommitment can lead to exhaustion and cause your performance to
suffer and burnout.
• Financial loss: The impact on health and productivity takes a toll on you and your loved ones.

Balancing your life domains has significant benefits:
• Fulfillment: People who successfully implement balance improve their sense of satisfaction at
work and home.
• Health: A healthy life balance decreases the risk of heart disease and other health problems.
• Greater productivity: Being less stressed out and well-rested increases productivity and
improves work performance.
• Stronger relationships: Personal and professional relationships are strengthened, and
conflicts are avoided when there is balance.

How to Balance Life Domains
First, it’s not easy. We have so many domains to balance and so many activities within each domain that sometimes, it’s hard to see the forest for the trees. This is where a good life coach can help. A coach can help you identify the vital domains based on your culture, values, goals, and concerns. And then help you adjust what’s out of balance. If you’re not of the coaching mindset, there are some things you can try on your own.
Accept and acknowledge that you can’t do everything. Accepting the fact allows you to be less critical of yourself and opens the door to feelings of emotional wellbeing.

Through Compensation you can actively increase the time you spend on positive life domains and decrease the time spent on the not-so-good ones.

Learn how to say no. This balance skill goes hand-in-hand with compensation.

Manage your time and your attention. Unfortunately, we don’t always work on the things we should be working on. And when we do get around to the important things in life, we’re not at our best. It would be best if you were at your best when working on the important stuff, so learn what conditions exist when you do your best and don’t waste the opportunity.

Take-Away
It isn’t easy to balance the different domains in life. It is a juggling act, and skill is needed. However, if not addressed, the consequences can be severe, e.g., ill-health or loss of a job. So, it’s essential to know what balance looks like for you. Regularly evaluating your life domains and adjusting your balance goes a long way in ensuring happiness and good overall quality of life.

As a coach, I find that an excellent way to identify the status of your life domains is to focus on one domain at a time to implement change. Start with the easiest one first. Once the implemented change has reached the desired balance, move on to the next. Building momentum with changes can start to create a balance. Even small changes in each domain can have a positive impact on overall life satisfaction.

A newly balanced life can start with just one step.