One of the things I learned some time ago was that to achieve balance, I need to take action.
Toward that end, I set up a simple system of daily conventions: some simple habits and routines to practice every day to help me achieve the goals that I had prioritized.
One thing that I do every day is to phone a friend.
Every once in a while, I need a reminder. Today, it came in the form of a great piece from Margaret Heffernan at FastCompany.com that I had read some time ago and resurrected today.
Margaret had placed a half-hour time block on her calendar every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday that was permanent- it couldn’t be moved or rescheduled. Ms. Heffernan would walk out her office door and take time for herself. She called it “my thinking time.”
What she found is that we’ve gotten so accustomed to multitasking that we have forgotten how to
single task: to give our full attention and presence to just one thing – ourselves, a partner, a child, a family member, a friend, a colleague.
by David B. Bohl If you’re a female entrepreneur or small business owner, you probably already realize that you’ve got some special demands on your
Last December the Center for Work-Life Policy released a report that ran in the December issue of the Harvard Business Review titled: “Extreme Jobs: The Dangerous Allure of the 70-Hour Workweek.” The study characterized workers as “extreme” if they involved long hours (thus the 70 hour workweek mentioned in the title) and 5 categories of pressure relating to job performance.
Main factors attributed to extreme jobs are globalization, Blackberries, and Type A personalities. The study lists two huge personal costs of these jobs: Almost 60% of these workers beleieve their career undermines their relationship with their children. Additionally, 50% say their work interferes with their sex lives.
In my blog post of March 12th: “Tips for Entrepreneurs” I shared with you the story of a couple of entrepreneurs from a post from the Youngentrepreneur blog. The brothers Torrens – Mathew and Adam – had offered up 5 tips for start-up entrepreneurs that could easily serve as guidelines for most anything we attempt to accomplish in life.
Their third suggestion: “Find a mentor”, is something that more and more of us are realizing the benefits of doing, but, realistically and practically, many more of us simply can’t bring ourselves to do or simply don’t make the time for.
My wife and I became empty-nesters last August when our youngest went off to college, and we’ve been adjusting our balance ever since.
Not being one to always want to have to reinvent the wheel, I asked several friends who had been through this chapter in their lives to share with me what it was like for them and what they had learned. Although the range of experiences was huge, I did garner two consensus opinions: First, that things were strange for a while. Second, that it was a wonderful time for all.
There’s something about this time of the year that make things very intense, and I don’t mean the wonderful excitement surrounding the NCAA’s college basketball tournament.
Is is just me, or does it seem that most everyone is stretched at this time of the year? Maybe it has something to do with tax time for individuals and businesses.
Possibly it concerns the sheer number of conventions and trade shows that occur between now and the middle of May. Maybe it’s related to the earlier daylight savings time change, spring breaks, the upcoming Easter holiday, and spring fever in general. Maybe it’s simply a cycle of the year in the world in which I operate.
I think the bigger concern we all have is that, because the world now operates at the speed of technology, is that the access we now enjoy to the outside world means that we’re within easy reach of those who wish to contact us no matter where we are and what we’re doing.
Take a look at this list: having days off taking longer vacations having times during the day that are set aside for family setting time
by David B. Bohl Sometimes it’s tough being a man. You’re expected to do your job or run your business, support your family, be a
We’ve all been faced with this decision: Should I put in those extra hours in the evening or on the weekends to earn that additional money that will make my family more comfortable or allow us to purchase a few of those not-so-necessary items we’ve wanted?
Terry Cullen discusses that very topic in her Juggle blog in the Wall Street Journal Online. The problem she presents is deciding whether or not to accept offers of overtime for those who are employed and the inherent dilemmas regarding work family balance.
Those of us who are entrepreneurs, small business owners, self-employed, and/or freelance professionals know all too well the mental gymnastics we go through when faced with this issue.
Susan Burns offers an excellent guest post on Leslie Morgan Steiner’s Washington Post On Balance blog. This provides a real-life case study on what we’re all facing in some way: wondering whether or not we’re doing what’s right for all involved in our lives.
I applaud Ms. Burns for her taking a look at the external factors in her life – her job and commute, her husband’s job, her family. Now, I cannot possibly know exactly what her life is like, nor would I presume to offer advice without knowing much, much more. But, as a case study, it’s now time for her to examine the internal factors.
I came across a post today that I had read a few months ago on Michelle Medley’s blog at Motto Magazine.
In her post, Ms. Medley shares her thoughts on the classic 1938 Oscar-winning film “You Can’t Take it With You” staring Lionel Barrymore.
There’s a scene in the movie where Barrymore walks into a bustling office, and, intrigued by a worker repeatedly pulling the arm of an adding machine, asks him what he’s doing.
The worker replies that he’s doing his job.
Barrymore asks if he likes what he’s doing.
The worker simply replies “no.”
* Be passionate
* Stay committed
* Find a mentor
* Do not be afraid to seek help
* Get started – what are you waiting for?
by David Bohl Dr. Daniel Gilbert, a Harvard professor of psychology, has done some ground-breaking and very intriguing research into the science of happiness. Dr.
by David Bohl In this article, we’re going to push the edge of the envelope. I’m going to challenge you all to take hard looks
Darrel Drobnich, Senior Director of Government and Transportation Affairs at the National Sleep Foundation, speaking about the need to understand how lack of sleep impacts how people live, think, and function, had this to say: “Our 300-year-old Puritan work ethic is running smack into this 24/7 society. The thing people cut back on is sleep. That’s a block of time they have control over.” His comments appeared in an article titled “Asleep at the Wheel” in the April 2007 edition of Reader’s Digest.
We’ve all been there before – we try to pack so much into our days that we sacrifice an hour or two of sleep and, before we know it, it becomes a short-term pattern that leads to mistakes and crankiness.
Intuit Inc. has released a report authored by the Institute for the Future that examines the future of small businesses and entrepreneurs over the next 10 years.
There is good news for us striving not only for work-life balance, but also for those of us who know that we must take ownership of the entire work-life balance discussion (see my post of March 6th in this blog).
Does your definition of life balance include taking a vacation that allows you to give of yourself? If you’re interested in spending your vacation volunteering,
