Life on the Tightrope

June 26, 2007 | Life | 3 Comments

I guess everyone thinks about work-life balance at some point in their life ““ usually when they have none. Does anyone have this figured out? According to BBC News, UK lawyers are quitting in droves because of this issue. A Harris Poll recently pitted Moms against Dads to determine who could better handle career and family ““ apparently neither gender has it nailed. In Japan, work-life balance was cited as one of the most important issues in a recent draft of the country’s basic policies for economic and fiscal management, and structural reform.

Last week I was sick ““ I mean really sick, not call in sick and go to the beach behavior ““ and I had a lot of time to contemplate the great, “what do I want to do with my life” question. At least between bouts of NyQuil-induced narcolepsy. What I realized was that like many, I LIKE what I do; I just sometimes find my successful life getting a touch one-dimensional. In the spirit of achievement and enjoyment going hand in hand, I have 5 tips that help me to maintain balance in the crazy world of PR. I’m no health guru, so feel free to disagree - but here’s what works for me:

1. Figure out what is important to you ““ The key here is to set some priorities and target them one at a time. When you are at work, focus on work; when you are with your kids, focus on them (OK, I don’t have any kids, but you take my meaning). This is also known as “Save the drama for your mama.” If you are complaining all day to your coworkers about your home situation, and then go home and complain about your boss, you’ll never get anywhere, and end up stressed out all the time. Focus.

2. Plan relaxation ““ Sounds a little contrary, and sometimes it feels that way too, but trust me on this. You have to schedule the weekend adventures and special Wednesday night dinners if you want them to happen. I know that if I wait until Friday to make a plan, that plan will be to sleep all weekend. Saturday morning brunch seems like a lot of work Friday night, but Saturday morning I am so glad to be there with my friends! If I laze around alone all weekend, I wake up Monday feeling like the weekend got away from me, and I get resentful because, “All I do is work.” Get out there.

3. Use technology and save time ““ OK, you knew this one was coming. I am in tech PR. Truly, I am not the techie-est person on the planet, but I don’t know what we ever did without mobile phones and Internet searches to save time and get me the information that I need, NOW. My favorite, life-changing and timesaving technologies? Most are pretty basic. Try Google’s search nearby function that enables you to find a restaurant or business near wherever you have to be. Get a cell phone with Web access that returns results in your lifetime ““ or use a service like Tellme to quickly get information in the most convenient form for you, be it voice, text or download. Shop online efficiently. Scrap the post-its and use your PDA ““ organization can really help reduce that stress level.

4. Learn how to say no - One of my favorites! This can be one of the biggest land mines to sustaining balance. Use your priority criteria to identify requests that simply aren’t worth your time. Your friends will understand, and respect you for it. Want more explanation? No. (See how easy that was!)

5. Get help ““ No, I don’t mean psychiatric help, though that may come in handy. I mean if you really can’t make time for yourself, talk to your spouse or partner. Figure out a way to redistribute responsibility, so that a little gym time or a guitar lesson will fit in your life. Or talk to your boss. Can your work hours shift an hour so that you can get to that yoga class? You never know unless you ask. Don’t suffer quietly. This is your life we are talking about.

I think the real key is to put yourself in an environment where the people you work with care as much about you as they do about the company. If you like what you do, and who you do it with, balance is possible. I promise. More on these ideas, as well as additional thoughts (from real experts in this area):

5 Tips for Better Work-Life Balance

10 Tips for Getting Your Work/Life in Balance

Need work-life balance? 7 tips

Five Sensible Tips for Achieving Work-Life Balance - CIO.com

Work-Life Balance Defined - What It Really Means!

-Syreeta

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