b'THE OFFICIAL NFBA MAGAZINETHE BALANCE TRAP: WHY LIFE SHOULDNT COMPETE WITH WORKLIFE MANAGEMENTLT - STOCK.ADOBE.COMBy Ray GageY ouve been lied to. Andnowhereisthismore It was wrapped in buzzwords. Sold asobvious than in industries like a productivity hack. Endorsed by HR,constructionwhere long hours, TED Talks, and time management gurus alike. relentless schedules, and high Its called work-life balanceand it doesntdemands are often treated as a badge of honor.exist. But heres the reality: when life becomes what Not in the way youve been told to chase it. happens in between your work, youve already lost the balance youre trying to achieve.You dont need more time. You dont need aIs life something that happens while you are better app. You dont need a fourth color-codeddoing work, or is work something that happens calendar that syncs across your devices. while you are doing life? Start with Stop, You need a reframe. Chapter 1The idea of work-life balance is built on a falseThe Pandemic Pulled Back the Curtainpremise: that work and life are two opposingWhen COVID-19 upended daily routines, it forces to be managed, as if youre standingalso exposed the fragility of the work-life myth. on a teeter-totter, trying to keep both sidesAs people were forced to work from home, the perfectly level. Thats not balance. Thats stressillusion that these two aspects of life could be disguised as strategy. neatly divided shattered. People didnt resist 18 / FRAME BUILDER - VOL6 4'