These days, WLB is quite the buzz word in and all around. It just might be the most important thing in your life – first we need a good WLB, before we can hope for Peace of Mind (hover)
- Worklife Balance defined: what it means, what it doesn’t mean
- Achievement and Enjoyment as the basis for life-time goals
- Accepting responsibility for your own work and life results
- Staying in focus despite interruptions
- A method for staying in balance every day
- Improved productivity through quick and effective planning and organization
- Techniques for timely project completion
- The tool to maximize quality time in your relationships:
-At Work – With Family – Friends – Yourself - 3 ways to build lasting rapport and respect with associates
- Connecting daily activities to work-life goals
- The emotion-decision link
- Strategies that improve team communication
- Mastering the choice challenge
- Effectively adjusting your worklife balance over time
5 Tips for Better Work-Life Balance
1. Figure Out What Really Matters in Life
The important point here is to figure out what you want your priorities to be, not what you think they should be.
1. If my life could focus on one thing and one thing only, what would that be?
2. Make a list of the 5 or more things most important to you, in order of importance.
A typical top-list of values might include some of the following:
- My children
- My partner (spouse)
- Satisfying career
- Adventure/travel
- Good health/exercise/diet
- Religion/spirituality
- My hobbies
- Community service
- Art/culture
2. Drop Unnecessary Activities
Whatever does not satisfy the above values is probably a waste of time. If TV or videogames is your hobby, that’s important to you but just make sure it doesn’t interfere with the things higher in your list.
If at all possible, drop all commitments and pursuits that don’t make your top-list.
3. Protect Your Personal Time
Forget about your work when you are spending personal time alone, with friends or family. Very few people are so important that they need their phones on at all times.
If work consistently interferes with your personal time, discuss some adjustments with your boss. Your job performance should never be judged in terms of hours of input. Protecting your private time often leads to greater satisfaction in both work and personal life, more creativity, and greater productivity.
If you are the boss, it’s up to you to create boundaries between work and personal time. Tell your associates that if they call at night or on the weekend, they shouldn’t expect an immediate response.
4. Accept Help to Balance Your Life
Allow yourself to rely on your partner, family, friends – anyone you can delegate to make your life easier. Be fair and offer something in return for the favor.
5. Plan Fun and Relaxation
Fun and relaxation are an essential part of living a well-balanced life. Music lessons, yoga, a ladies’ night out, a romantic date, a couple times a month. Get your body moving, try some fun exercises (trampoline?) or play a sport. If you believe that the most important thing is to be happy in life, and follow the basic rules of time management, then you will always be able to make time.