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Easy Steps to Work-Life Balance
by Debra A. Dinnocenzo
Knowing when to disconnect, shut
it off, unplug, or walk away from work is one
of the essential keys to work/life balance for harried and overworked
people.
When was the last time you completely
left work behind? How frequently do you
take work home, check e-mail or voice mail from home, or take your
work with
you on vacation? Do you feel you can’t afford to not do these
things? What’s
the real impact on your personal sense of balance when you are consistently
making work your top priority?
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The work many of us do is extremely
demanding of both our time and energy.
In many cases, you may allow the intrusion and justify the cost on
a personal
level for real or anticipated gains on the career level. But way
too often, we’re
sacrificing family time, exercise, or much-needed personal time without
making
conscious choices about the implications and trade-offs.
Many of us feel stressed and overworked
because we are overconnected. As
a result of the onslaught of information, along with the never-ending
ways that
people can access us anytime of the day or night, we feel perpetually
connected
to our work. Think about the number of technology resources you now
use that
were not commonplace just a few years ago. Cell phones, pagers, e-mail,
instant messaging, online chats, voice mail, call forwarding, wireless
Internet
pagers…. the list just keeps growing. How much is enough of
these technology
tools and the obsessive connection to our work?! And how do we begin
to
reestablish those important boundaries between our work and our personal
lives?
In our book, "Dot Calm: The Search for Sanity in a Wired World," we
provide a
wealth of “how to” tips for managing the work-life challenge:
The first step: JUST SAY NO!—and
draw clear boundaries. This takes on
multiple forms:
- Turn off your cell phone when you
shouldn’t
be interrupted.
- Don’t take a cell phone to an appointment or when you
are focusing on
someone else.
- Don’t give out your cell phone number. Use it only for
outgoing calls.
- Screen calls using caller ID.
- Block out time when you will not be interrupted.
- Hold certain times “sacred.” If you make a commitment
for a social or family
event, honor that commitment without interruptions.
- Use the “delete” option early and often.
- Arrange for calls from the office only in cases of emergency.
- Maintain your commitment to “work-free” vacations.
- Make sure you are clear about what you value and what is important
to you.
- Let voice mail or the answering machine take your calls.
- On your voice mail greeting, be clear about when you will
and will not be
available. Update that message regularly.
- Exercise to burn off stress—and don’t talk on
your cell phone or into your
dictation machine while exercising!
Obviously, some intrusions of work
into personal life are unavoidable, depending
upon the nature of your work. If you manage a nuclear power plant,
are a
member of an organ transplant team, or have on-call responsibilities
as part of
your job, then some intrusions go with the territory. However, more
often than
not, we let work seep into our personal lives even when there’s
not a bonafide
emergency or time-urgent crisis. We’ve become so accustomed
to the everpresence of our work that we’ve unconsciously allowed
further intrusions that
have, in many cases, become unreasonable.
Our research involved hundreds of
interviews and surveys to learn how busy
people are achieving balance and integrating overwork solutions into
the lives.
There are five key solutions that are working for these people, some
of whom
work long hours, receive over 300 e-mail each day, travel extensively,
and have
families they treasure. Here are a few specific steps you can take
for each of
these solutions:
1. PRIORITIZE AND ORGANIZE
- Know what you need to accomplish and focus on that.
- Maintain a firm commitment to being organized and used systems
that
support that.
- Ignore those e-mails and voice mails that are not really important.
2. TAKE DAILY “TIME-OUTS”
•Take a nap, a walk, or a mini-meditation break with a few minutes of
silence.
• Maintain daily rituals, such as teatime, meditation, prayer, exercise.
• Leave the office—and leave your work there.
3. TAKE MINI SABBATICALS.
• Enjoy a weekend trip with family or friends.
• Schedule game night (or movie night or pizza night) with your family.
• Plan a work-free family day at least one weekend each month.
4. NURTURE THE SOUL AND MIND.
• Read a good book (unrelated to your work).
• Participate in community service activity with your family.
• Go to a movie, the theater, the opera, or the museum.
5. NOURISH THE BODY.
• Exercise regularly.
• Eat and sleep well.
• Get a massage.
About The Author
Debra A. Dinnocenzo is a dynamic speaker, author, and trainer with
expertise
in telework, virtual teams, and work-life balance. She is president
of
ALLearnatives, a learning and development firm that designs and implements
telework, sales performance, virtual teams, and work-life balance
programs.
She is the author of “101 Tips for Telecommuters” and
co-author of “Dot Calm:
The Search for Sanity in a Wired World,” which offers solutions
for achieving
work-life balance. ALLearnatives offers workshops, seminars, and
the free
e-newsletter, “WorkWisely.”
Visit http://www.allearnatives.com
to subscribe to “WorkWisely,“ schedule
a
presentation, or obtain additional resources.
For additional information,
contact Debra Dinnocenzo, <ddinnocenzo@allearnatives.com>
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