Businessweek recently ran an interesting article that polled readers about how (or whether) they managed to achieve that elusive goal we call work-life balance.
You know those folks, wrote Michelle Conlin:
These are the people of the tidy desks and tidy homes. The work-life super class. They don’t skulk in late like the rest of us. They don’t wear rumpled clothes, miss deadlines, or weaken before the vending machine.
Their secrets? Some had none, saying work-life balance wasn’t achievable given the hypercompetitive workplace and the race for status. But others came up with strategies that helped them find a measure of equilibrium. Here are three worth noting.
- Reboot your career. If you find yourself overwhelmed and overburdened, consider the radical step of quitting your job and starting fresh. Karyn Couvillion and her husband did exactly that, quitting both their jobs on the same day in 2007. Ten months later, the marketing-consulting business they started is booming and they’ve managed to save both their marriage and their sanity.
- Focus on frugality. Hermes Aleman shares the advice to keep your needs and wants manageable, so you have some financial freedom and aren’t a slave to work. As you earn more, fight the temptation to spend more.
- Don’t create your own stress. Sarah Sherman notes that you can control exactly how you react to negative people and situations - so don’t react in a way that drives you crazy. And while you’re at it, says Hursh Chetan, learn to manage stress by switching off your e-mail, your Blackberry, and your mind. Focus on the simple things in life like the rain, the wind, and time with your family and friends.
Do you have any tips on how to achieve better work-life balance? If so, please share them with other readers in the comments section.
(image by Peat Bakke via Flickr, CC 2.0)
