A definition of work-Iife baIance

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by Krystle Hernandez
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Maintaining a balance between your work and your personal life can often be a difficult
feat to accomplish. Many people feel that there are just not enough hours in the day to
complete all the tasks they have set before them.
One of the definitions of psychologically destructive behaviors is the inability for an
individual to control the amount of time he or she spends thinking about or involved with
one aspect of their lives. When one issue, person, behavior, or emotion is dominant
over all others, an individual has no balance, and can suffer dramatic psychological and
emotional consequences. n order to maintain a healthy, happy, balanced lifestyle, one
must certainly establish a personal standard and definition for work-life balance.
Establishing this standard is a personal decision that you should make based primarily
on your needs, commitments, and personal desires. Always make time for yourself,
even just to take quiet time to yourself to reflect on your life.
Although many people may feel they have no time, the truth is that we all have the time.
Our ability to effectively complete our work-related and personally-driven responsibilities
is reflective of our ability to manage time successfully. f you are having a difficult time
maintaining a balance between your work and your personal life, look over some of the
following tips.

1. Get organized. Organization is the key to successful time management. Some
planners come with instructions that will assist you in planning your time effectively. You
will learn skills to help you prioritize tasks according to their significance and urgency,
and at the end of the day, guarantee, you will feel much more productive.
2. Schedule time to unwind. Relaxation and recovery from work are essential processes
in establishing a healthy cycle of work and relaxation. Be sure that you fit in time,
somewhere in your day, anywhere in your day, for at least half an hour to yourself, if
only to sit in silence and unwind from the tensions and stressors you face all day. f you
are wound up twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, the likelihood that you will
have any social life is slim to none.
3. Schedule fun time. Fun time can be defined as any period of time which focuses on
you doing something you love. Having this time to yourself will maintain your center of
self and help you keep work, and life, in perspective.
Remember, work-life balance is defined exclusively by you. So take some time to
yourself, starting now, and start working on your definition. Once you know what you
think or feel about it, it will be much easier for you to incorporate into your daily life and
maintain long-term.


by Cynthia Harlan
Your life is divided among many things. First, you have your family and then your job. f
you participate in other activities or go school your life is further divided. n order to
maintain all areas of your life without getting completely stressed out or failing at
everything that you attempt you must find a balance between them.
This balance is like an ever-changing tight rope walk. As your needs and responsibilities
change so must the balance. But, here's some ideas that may help:
First, set priorities. Decide what's most important to you. Then make up a plan to
achieve your goals.
f you are young and single, focusing on your career may be the best choice for you.
Once you've established yourself, have the home and the bank account that you are
content with, then maybe it's time to begin a family and focus more on it.
Even as a young single person, it is not healthy to spend 24/7 on the job. You need to
have other activities in your life. So be sure and set up some time for those.
f you have a family things can get tricky. Now you have two equally important priorities.
Both require your time and attention. To balance these you might need to make some
adjustments.
f you are single with kids, perhaps you can find a job at home or one that allows you to
work only during school hours. Some companies offer flex time which can help as well.
t also helps if you had a strong support system like family or really good friends willing
to pitch in.
f you are married with kids then you really have 3 priorities- your work, your spouse and
your kids. t is important to speak with your spouse and decide on a plan that works for
everyone. Today, almost every 2-parent household needs two parents who work in
order to survive. Working opposite shifts allows the kids to have one parent home with
them, however, this schedule can really cut into your time with your spouse. Whatever,
the plan be sure to agree on it.
When your family has grown and you reach retirement age you still need to evaluate
your needs. Have you saved enough to live comfortably without working? Do you really
want to quit working all together. Do you want to switch from an paying to a volunteer
job? Are you healthy or do you have medical problems? Do you have a spouse to share
this time with or are you looking for one? You need to answer all these question to
decide what takes priority with you.
The work-life balance depends on a lot of different variables. The best way to keep it in
balance is to set priorities, design a plan, and carry it through. Remember when you
design your plan to leave a little room for alone time.


Work-LiIe Balance
By Susan M. HeathIield, About.com Guide
Definition:
Work-liIe balance is a concept that supports the eIIorts oI employees to split their time and energy between work and the other important aspects oI their
lives. Work-liIe balance is a daily eIIort to make time Ior Iamily, Iriends, community participation, spirituality, personal growth, selI care, and other
personal activities, in addition to the demands oI the workplace. Work-liIe balance is assisted by employers who institute policies, procedures, actions, and
expectations that enable employees to easily pursue more balanced lives.
The pursuit oI work-liIe balance reduces the stress employees experience. When they spend the majority oI their days on work-related activities and Ieel as
iI they are neglecting the other important components oI their lives, stress and unhappiness result. Work-liIe balance enables employees to Ieel as iI they
are paying attention to all the important aspects oI their lives.
Because many employees experience a personal, proIessional, and monetary need to achieve, work-liIe balance is challenging. Employers can assist
employees to experience work-liIe balance by oIIering such opportunities as Ilexible work schedules, paid time oII (PTO) policies, responsible time and
communication expectations, and company-sponsored Iamily events and activities.
Managers are important to employees seeking work-liIe balance. Managers who pursue work-liIe balance in their own lives model appropriate behavior
and support employees in their pursuit oI work-liIe balance. They create a work environment in which work-liIe balance is expected, enabled, and
supported. They retain outstanding employees to whom work-liIe balance is important.



Work LiIe Balance: Tips and Techniques
From Thomas J. Denham
http://jobsearch.about.com/od/careeradvice/a/workliIe.htm
%ese are typical signs of work life balance gone amuck:
O Feeling that you are merely trying to get through the day.
O Barely making it to the end oI the week and Ieeling completely exhausted by the time you get
home.
O Feeling that you are on the merry-go-round oI liIe and just wanting to get oII.
O Feeling like you are Ialling behind and never catching up in the game oI liIe.
II you are not "wicked happy" then there are a couple oI rules you should know about work/liIe
balance. First, people that have work/liIe balance don't always have work/liIe balance. Think oI
it as a continuum Irom a 10 being "perIect balance" to a 1 meaning "total chaos." Where do you
Iall on that continuum most oI the time? Is it time to change course?
Rule #2 is that techniques that work Ior some may not work Ior others. Analyzing your present
situation is the beginning step in the process toward wholeness.
$etting Goals
Rule #3: balance comes Irom answering a series oI questions about yourselI on a regular basis.
For example, am I clear about my personal, proIessional and play goals? II you are not crystal
clear on your goals, you will only get mixed results. The Iourth rule is that achieving work/liIe
balance is incremental. There are really no silver bullet solutions. There are only minor tips and
techniques that have a cumulative eIIect iI implemented.
I recommend that you examine the Iour stages oI the work/liIe balance process. In the Iirst step,
SelI-Assessment your objective is to answer the question, "Who am I?" You will want to reIlect
on your skills, values, interests and priorities. Writing down your thoughts and ideas is an
excellent way to start. Share your ideas with a proIessional or someone you trust to be your
"accountability buddy."
Next, comes the Exploration stage. Here you want to answer the question "Where am I going?"
You will want to come up with your goals that match the inIormation gained in the Iirst stage.
You will need to be clear about your personal deIinition oI success. I suggest you have goals in
these areas oI your liIe: Iaith, Iamily, Iriends, Iinances, Iitness, Iun (yes, Iun), Iuture career
development, and Iinally Iurther learning. What investments will you make in these areas?
Third is the Implementation stage where you answer the question "How do I get there?" Here
you are developing a strategic action plan to obtain your goals on a weekly, monthly and annual
basis. Make sure these goals are speciIic, measurable, action-oriented, realistic and time-
sensitive. At the end comes the Evaluation stage when you determine what went right and what
went wrong.
et's take a look at a few tips tat you may find useful:
O 'isualize your ideal liIe - dare to dream and write down the top ten things you want to
accomplish on your "liIe list."
O Write down your personal vision statement and mission statement - it will help you see where
you are going in liIe.
O Turn oII the television - studies show that it creates depression. It is a passive activity that
won't give you energy.
O Limit Internet time - set better boundaries so that technology does not rule your liIe.
O Pursue your passion persistently - own it and be disciplined in achieving what you truly desire
out oI liIe.
O eep a journal - it will help you on a regular basis to stay Iocused on what is important to you.
O Every weekend set a goal oI doing one Iun activity.
O DeIine your daily exercise time - what works best Ior you, 30 minutes in the morning,
aIternoon or evening?
O Go to bed a halI hour early and get up a halI hour early - this allows you to carve out
additional personal time.
O When conIronted with a choice, ask yourselI: What's the cost? Will this add to my liIe or
create more stress?
O Let go oI people and things that are holding you back (ie. clutter, negativity, clothing, luxury
items, toys, etc.)
O Prune any activities that are not productive or non-priorities.
O Say three gratitudes each night - when you do this you will realize that you are too blessed to
stress.
O Reprioritize: What are your top 10 priorities Ior this year? Rank them in terms oI highest, high
and low.
O Every weekend make it a goal to call two Iriends - you won't have any regrets about building
up these relationships.
O Turn every occasion in your liIe into a positive - even negative experiences are seen as "What
can I learn Irom this?"
O Live simply, expect less and give more.

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Balance is the key to lead a successful and beautiful life which includes everything but in balance. It is important in
everyones life be it in the life of an entrepreneur, student or a housewife to maintain a balance between various
aspects of their daily routine. A student must know how to balance between his studies and curricular activities;
otherwise he will fail in one or the other thing. It is equally important that we maintain our balance between
materialistic and spiritual or religious life as well.

Our life has so many things to deal with, like our relationships, work, health, entertainment , responsibilities for
family and country etc and to be successful in all these aspects, we must know how maintain balance between all
of them.
In our everyday life, it is the work which occupies the major part of our life and many people get so occupied with
their work that they end up neglecting other important things of their life. In corporate world where there is huge
pressure on employees to meet their deadlines and long working hours, people really have lost balance in their
lives. There is no denial that one can not survive without work because this is what ultimately gives you the money
which is the source of everyones survival but along with work other things are also necessary. Sometimes some
goal or target grabs so much of our attention that we forget everything else and devote all our energy in
accomplishing that goal. Achieving goals or targets is not bad but leaving everything else behind for that one
particular goal or target can be harmful for an individual.
Time management is the solution to most of our problems. Everybody is provided with twenty four hours only but
it depends upon us how we utilize them. And within these limited hours only we have to accomplish all our tasks
along with giving rest to our bodies and minds. And to manage the time, it is very important that we set our
priorities for our life. When we set our priorities, then it becomes easy to divide our attention according them. For
some people its their work which is a priority, so they spend more time with their work. When we divide our time
according to our priorities, then there are very few chances that we will not be leading a balanced life.
In the end what matters is that we live a life in which we are happy and does not hold any regret that we are
missing out something because we dont have enough time. When we will manage our time wisely according to our
priorities, then it will never be so difficult for us to maintain balance in our life.