God knows that we need balance. I've blogged before about how God rested, in part, because of setting an example to us of the finiteness of work. In spite of the idea of Sabbath in the Bible, it's hard to find time to rest. Work keeps us busy.
In his book, "God on Monday," Benny Tabalujan lists several "Sabbath Spoilers," which are essentially ideologies or myths that keep us from experiencing the work-life balance that God knows we need. One is the idea that we have to make every moment productive. Do you ever feel like, if you stop working even for a minute, you're wasting time. Verses like "Be still and know that I am God," (Psalm 46:10) don't seem to fit with our "got to keep moving" attitude.
Another attitude keeping us from balance according to Tabalujan is mechanistic time management. I have to admit that I struggle in this area--my day planner is divided into 30-minute increments and I am relentless about planning with it. He isn't against using time wisely--it's the over-emphasis on calculating time down to the second, with being more concerned about quantity than quality. I found it interesting as he pointed out that sundials were used for time-telling for most of history, giving only the "broad brush of daily time" and now we have clocks that are accurate down to the vibrations of an atom.
A third myth that steals rest is that our leisure time has to be filled with activities. I know people who can't seem to be happy unless they're doing something. They fidget if left to sit and enjoy an evening, or even worse...talk. I'm far from good at this, but I try to find times in every vacation or trip where we can sit and relax. Maybe it's an newly-discovered book store or a quiet place to enjoy an afternoon. Too often, we need our work to recover from vacation.
What keeps you from restful balance? Note I'm not suggesting laziness or sloth. Only that work be balanced with time to rest, recuperate, and worship.
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