Life, Work, Sleep Balance Quiz

With the high demands of society, today’s workforce is spending more time at the office and less time at home. Often the time spent at home is running errands, doing chores, and then sleeping only to repeat the cycle the very next day.

Is your life balanced?

Credit: ©iStockphoto.com/Sadeugra

The following quiz will help you determine whether or not you balance life, work, and sleep properly.

1. Do you take the time to eat healthy foods packed with energy?

   a. Yes — Healthy foods are important to you.

   b. Sometimes — You are conscious about your food choices but like to indulge on occasion.

   c. No — You only eat food that is convenient and tastes good (high in sugar and fat.)

2. Are you involved in an exercise or diet regimen?

   a. Yes — Exercise is a daily part of your life.

   b. No — You would rather be watching TV.

3. How often do you bring your work home with you?

   a. Always — You never have enough time to finish your workload.

   b. Sometimes — Occasionally you have extra work that needs to be done after hours.

   c. Never — Work you take home . . . What’s that?

4. How many hours do you put in at the office?

   a. Less than 40 hours a week — You watch the clock and can’t wait to go home.

   b. 40 hours a week — You do your job but nothing extra.

   c. More than 40 hours a week — Overtime, baby!

5. Are you proactive at scheduling everything you do?

   a. Yes — You are “anal” about getting stuff done and being on time.

   b. No — You do stuff at your leisure and are often late to work and scheduled events.

6. Do you plan special time with friends and family?

   a. Yes — Friends and family are the most important things in your life.

   b. Sometimes — You juggle time with your friends, family, and work.

   c. No — You have no time for anything other than work and sleep.

7. Do you take more than an hour a day to run errands and do chores?

   a. Yes — You are a clean freak and worry too much about how your house looks.

   b. Sometimes — You like a clean house but know your priorities and are willing to overlook things.

   c. No — You have someone else do your errands and chores for you to free up valuable time.

8. Do you make alone time for yourself to do something you love?

   a. Yes — You are a hermit and prefer the company of yourself.

   b. Sometimes — You take a break when your body tells you its needed.

   c. No — You are selfless and feel guilty about spending time alone.

9. Do you have a hobby that does not include work or involve family?

   a. Yes — You seek to be a more rounded individual.

   b. No — Your hobby is your work.

10. Do you turn off your work phone and log out of e-mail when off the clock?

    a. Yes — You value your personal time and will check what you missed when you go back to work.

    b. No — You don’t want to miss a step with work and make it your number one priority.

Scoring your quiz

Using the following point values and your answers, add up your score:

1. a, 2; b, 1; c, 3

2. a, 1; b, 2

3. a, 1; b, 2; c, 3

4. a, 3; b, 2; c, 1

5. a, 2; b, 1

6. a, 3; b, 2; c, 1

7. a, 1; b, 2; c, 3

8. a, 2; b, 3; c, 1

9. a, 2; b, 1

10. a, 2; b, 1

10–15 points

You work way too much and need to consider some changes to your lifestyle . . .

Try not to bring your work home with you and take the time to work on your personal life. Build stronger bonds with your friends and family by getting to know them on a deeper level. Some specific things to try:

• Don’t always talk about the stresses of your job.

• Eat more energetic foods and get plenty of exercise to give you a boost and help regulate the way your body spends its energy.

• Avoid napping, and get 8 hours of sleep a night.

16–21 points

Your relationship between your personal life and professional one is balanced and harmonized. . . . Way to go!

As there is always a way to better yourself, try to tweak some of your habits to optimize the balance and harmony in your life. If you're feeling the stress of work, take up a skill or learn a new language; exercise your creativity. If you're falling behind at work, schedule a block of time on the weekend to work through the backlog.

22–26 points

Your work ethic might need some adjusting. You don’t value the work you do and might need to reevaluate what is important to you.

If you enjoy your job, take on more assignments at work and consider working overtime occasionally. If you're just putting in time, consider a career shift or going back to school to learn a new skill.

• Get off the couch and go for a walk.

• Adapt healthier habits into your lifestyle; for instance, consider waking up 2–3 hours before you have to go to work and go to the gym first.

• Change your primary diet to more energy-efficient food groups such as fruits and vegetables or seeds and nuts.