The November edition of TEDxKrakowCinema’s theme was: work + life = balance. The hosts of the evening, Agata and Marek Wierzbicki, wondering whether this was at all possible, decided to take a closer look into it.
The meeting started with traditional icebreakers, followed by Nigel Marsh’s presentation -”How to make work-life balance work“. It turns out that the reconciliation of family life and work is not very easy and requires time and attention, but the search for what’s important to us is still worth a while – no one else will do it for us. Little, everyday joys and small changes often bring surprisingly good results.
After discussing in small groups of 5-6, we had found that each of us has a slightly different idea of what work – life balance is. Sometimes, the peace of mind we seek does not necessarily guarantee happiness. Overwork can often lead to burnout and painful isolation. Reaching work – life balance requires many tries and sometimes the courage to take the first step.
Some of us need a small change to start, but others might need to make a revolution in life and turn it upside down. How about a year long vacation for every seven years of work instead of an early retirement? Sounds radical? Not necessarily, when you look at creative results of “Sagmeister & Walsh” in the presentation by Stefan Sagmeister: “The power of time off “. Is time off a wasted time? Maybe our internal computer needs to reset from time to time to stay creative? Companies like Google or 3M programmed free time in their employee’s schedule. It lead to great results. Is it worth to plan our time off? It turns out that yes, very much so! Figuring out the schedule for our favorite activities helps structuring the sabbatical. A yearlong time off brought ideas for 7 consecutive years of work, the joy of creation and financial success for Stefan and his studio.
Does the satisfaction from our achievements in life means happiness? The answer was provided by a very entertaining talk by Shawn Achor: “The happy secret to better work”. Shawn talked in a quite funny way about the power of positive psychology. Surprisingly, changing the perspective opens quite new possibilities. Maybe we don’t need to be just an average after all? It also might be worthwhile to change the principle that working hard and being successful automatically makes us happy. Studies show that only 10% of our happiness depends on others, and 90% is up to us. If so, it is definitely worth to attract happiness into the framework of our lives. To find work – life balance is to find balance in life general. It takes effort and many attempts, but it is like riding a bike – once we figure it out, it gives us joy and happiness.
To finish the evening Agata selected a presentation about how to use a paper towel. Now we will remember to shake and fold for the rest of our life 
See you again in December.