“All these formulas do require you to first carve out the time to assess where you are before you act. They’re ways of checking in with yourself, essentially.”—Emma Pruys, Clinical Design Lead, Australian Unity
Key points
- There are numerous formulas that can help people prioritise and find greater balance in their life, such as the “four burner theory”.
- Although “balance” looks different for everyone, these formulas can force you to stop and assess your life and priorities.
- Research shows that the “golden triangle of happiness”—finances, relationships and a sense of purpose—has a significant impact on our wellbeing.
These days, it feels like everyone—from social media influencers to self-help gurus to podcast hosts—is spruiking a formula to help you find more balance in life. Think the “four burners theory”, the 80/20 rule, or even the 8+8+8 rule, where you divide your time into eight-hour increments dedicated to sleep, work and leisure.
All these frameworks are designed to help us balance our life priorities, and many of us find ourselves drawn to them as a way to boost our productivity, health and wellbeing. But do these formulas actually work?
To find the answer, we asked the experts to tackle one of the most vexed issues we all face—namely, what do we really need to lead a more happily balanced life and achieve Real Wellbeing?
Do balance formulas actually work?
Emma Pruys, Australian Unity’s Clinical Design Lead, admits she doesn’t believe you can reduce a balanced life to a one-size-fits-all formula. That’s because our individual circumstances are ultimately so different and unique.
“They may work for some people,” she says. “Personally, I find these types of formulas can set up unrealistic expectations or create a framework that is too rigid, so they become counterintuitive or counterproductive.”
Nevertheless, Emma concedes that such formulas have one significant value. Whatever their specific basis, they do encourage you to take stock and consciously reflect on your circumstances rather than just rolling through life on autopilot.
“It’s a very busy world now and everyone is juggling many balls,” she says. “All these formulas do require you to first carve out the time to assess where you are before you act. They’re ways of checking in with yourself, essentially.”
Devoting time to those types of assessments is beneficial, suggests Emma, because it broadens your perspective beyond just surviving the daily grind. You can do these evaluations in a number of ways. From a health perspective, for example, Emma recommends once a year, making a proactive appointment to see your GP to check in on your health and risk factors to get a benchmark of how you’re faring and guidance on how to best manage your individual needs.
“Allow yourself to think about what your bigger picture could look like and your life overall,” she says. “You could also do it from a financial angle and speak to an adviser. People do quarterly budgets, but you can also implement something similar for your health and wellbeing.”
The golden triangle of happiness
Much like Emma, Dr Kate Lycett, from Deakin University’s School of Psychology, is also sceptical about the value of generic formulas for being in balance. “People cope with things differently, so it’s really individual,” she admits.
Yet as lead researcher for the Australian Unity Wellbeing Index, an annual study into Australians’ wellbeing that’s conducted in partnership with Deakin University, Kate points to research that can guide your quest for balance. The study tracks seven “domains” of wellbeing—the key factors that interlock to build a picture of our life satisfaction. These include your health, connection to the community and how you feel about the future.
“We know that three domains are really important and contribute the most to overall life satisfaction,” Kate says. “They’re known as the ‘golden triangle of happiness’ domains, which are standard of living [finances], achieving in life [having a sense of purpose] and close personal relationships.”
A perfectly balanced existence might look different for everyone. But your relationships, finances and sense of purpose are components that will have an oversized influence on its final composition.
Whatever magic formula you use to balance your life priorities, a good place to start is to base it around these three core areas. As Kate explains: “They’re going to give you the biggest bang for your buck in promoting your overall satisfaction with life and wellbeing.”
Finding your own formula for balance
If you’re starting to work through what “balance” looks like for you, Australian Unity is here to help. Whether it’s improving your health, planning for your financial future, maintaining independence at home, or helping your loved ones get the care they need, we can help you find ways to balance your being—and find Real Wellbeing.
Disclaimer:
Information provided in this article is of a general nature. Australian Unity accepts no responsibility for the accuracy of any of the opinions, advice, representations or information contained in this publication. Readers should rely on their own advice and enquiries in making decisions affecting their own health, wellbeing or interest. Interviewee names and titles were accurate at the time of writing.
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