I get asked a lot\u00a0about “work life balance” and how I do it. It’s not easy.<\/p>\n
Personally, I don’t believe it exists if you define it as balancing work and life equally all the time<\/em>. Just from a pure math point of view, if you work 5 days a week, there is no way that there can be balance from a time allotment perspective. Balance\u00a0implies you have equal weight on both sides. So we feel guilty because we can’t achieve the balance, and we beat ourselves up even though it’s impossible.\u00a0 And we feel bad because we’re told we can have it all. But what does that mean?<\/p>\n What I do believe is in work life balancing.\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n There will be times when you will have to work long hours at the office because of an event….a presentation, a problem, a project. But that shouldn’t be every day. And on those days when things are more “normal”, you should take advantage of those hours to do things unrelated to work. Just like I prioritize my work life, I prioritize my personal life.<\/p>\n So some lessons learned….<\/p>\n 1.\u00a0 I know who’s really important to me and that’s where I invest my time.\u00a0 There are a lot of people I like. But there are only a few people I really love.\u00a0 That’s where I invest my time. Trying to be friends with everyone I like is too time consuming for me. I’d rather\u00a0spend time with\u00a0those people I love. So, how do I do that?<\/p>\n “Can I sit up front?”<\/p>\n “No.”<\/p>\n “Can I turn on the radio?”<\/p>\n “No”<\/p>\n “Why?”<\/p>\n “I am driving and I need to be really focused, so put on your seat belt and please be quiet.”<\/p>\n “Why are we parked so far away from the entrance?”<\/p>\n “I don’t want to park near any cars that I might hit!”<\/p>\n (Should I mention he needed to show me how to turn on the windshield wipers when it started to rain?)<\/p>\n 2.\u00a0\u00a0Be consistent. Being consistent is the most underrated attribute in the world, but is one of the most important in order to help manage other people’s expectations. I know someone who leaves every Friday to pick up his kids at 4. We all know, and we work around it. It’s not a big deal for us, but I am willing to bet it’s a big deal for his kids. It’s easier for a manager to manage a flexible work arrangement if it’s consistent. Of course, when something happens, you just have to go and take care of it. The world will continue.<\/p>\n 3.\u00a0Do the small things. Taking time from work is a big gesture. But I also email\/text Maria every day…(what are you doing, what did you eat, what did Ken do to annoy you today?)\u00a0 Are there times when it’s radio silence? Sure. But she knows at some point I’ll resurface.<\/p>\n\n