How to create harmony between work and life goals

Wang and Fishbach suggest that the key to balance is not giving up one pursuit for another but rather learning to link them.

"The first step to creating harmony between your goals is to find a way to mentally integrate them, imagining the ways your goals may be connected," they write. To do this, list your goals and the specific activities required to achieve them. Then, look for connections and commonalities.

The authors tested this idea in a series of studies. In one study, they found that "[s]imply identifying these connections between pairs of goals increased [participants'] sense of goal harmony by 22% compared with another group who considered how the goals in each pair might conflict."

At the end of the study, participants reflected on their experience, offering insights such as:

• "By being more relaxed, I will be able to work more efficiently" (Work–Leisure pair).
• "The healthier I remain, the more money I can save" (Health–Finance pair).
• "I could absolutely take my parents out with me to volunteer at the church" (Family–Community pair). 

Another study that asked participants to identify actions that supported several goals at once produced similar results. According to the authors, "[p]articipants in this condition reported a 12% increase in their sense of goal harmony." 

Why goal harmony matters

The benefits of this mindset were consistent across the authors' research.

"Most people experience goal harmony, at least some of the time," they write. "But, through various studies, we found that those better able to draw many connections between their pursuits were more likely to stick to them, felt higher levels of motivation, were more productive, less stressed and burned out, and felt greater anticipation toward the future."

Still, the authors caution that harmony has limits. "[H]armony helps goals in central domains such as work and family," they write. "Yet there are times when priorities must be set; pursuing some goals while letting others go."

In other cases, conflict itself can be a signal. "Sometimes there is a self-control conflict: you might feel tempted to stay in bed and call in sick instead of going to work, or scroll through social media instead of finishing that report," the authors write. In the end, balancing may be less about choosing sides and more about knowing which goals can coexist going forward.

The authors emphasize that success comes from balance — knowing when to align goals and when to prioritize them. "Multiple goals do not have to create dissonance; they can form a symphony," they write. "The most motivated people are not simply more disciplined; they are more strategic."