| Knowing when to disconnect, shut it off, | | | | when you will and will not be available. |
| unplug, or walk away from work is one of the | | | | Update that message regularly. |
| essential keys to work/life balance for | | | | |
| harried and overworked people. | | | | - Exercise to burn off stress-and don't talk |
| | | | on your cell phone or into your dictation |
| When was the last time you completely left | | | | machine while exercising! |
| work behind? How frequently do you take work | | | | |
| home, check e-mail or voice mail from home, | | | | Obviously, some intrusions of work into |
| or take your work with you on vacation? Do | | | | personal life are unavoidable, depending upon |
| you feel you can't afford to not do these | | | | the nature of your work. If you manage a |
| things? What's the real impact on your | | | | nuclear power plant, are a member of an organ |
| personal sense of balance when you are | | | | transplant team, or have on-call |
| consistently making work your top priority? | | | | responsibilities as part of your job, then |
| | | | some intrusions go with the territory. |
| The work many of us do is extremely demanding | | | | However, more often than not, we let work |
| of both our time and energy. In many cases, | | | | seep into our personal lives even when |
| you may allow the intrusion and justify the | | | | there's not a bonafide emergency or |
| cost on a personal level for real or | | | | time-urgent crisis. We've become so |
| anticipated gains on the career level. But | | | | accustomed to the ever-presence of our work |
| way too often, we're sacrificing family time, | | | | that we've unconsciously allowed further |
| exercise, or much-needed personal time | | | | intrusions that have, in many cases, become |
| without making conscious choices about the | | | | unreasonable. |
| implications and trade-offs. | | | | |
| | | | Our research involved hundreds of interviews |
| Many of us feel stressed and overworked | | | | and surveys to learn how busy people are |
| because we are overconnected. As a result of | | | | achieving balance and integrating overwork |
| the onslaught of information, along with the | | | | solutions into the lives. There are five key |
| never-ending ways that people can access us | | | | solutions that are working for these people, |
| anytime of the day or night, we feel | | | | some of whom work long hours, receive over |
| perpetually connected to our work. Think | | | | 300 e-mail each day, travel extensively, and |
| about the number of technology resources you | | | | have families they treasure. Here are a few |
| now use that were not commonplace just a few | | | | specific steps you can take for each of these |
| years ago. Cell phones, pagers, e-mail, | | | | solutions: |
| instant messaging, online chats, voice mail, | | | | |
| call forwarding, wireless Internet pagers.... | | | | 1. PRIORITIZE AND ORGANIZE |
| the list just keeps growing. How much is | | | | |
| enough of these technology tools and the | | | | - Know what you need to accomplish and focus |
| obsessive connection to our work?! And how | | | | on that. |
| do we begin to reestablish those important | | | | |
| boundaries between our work and our personal | | | | - Maintain a firm commitment to being |
| lives? | | | | organized and used systems that support that. |
| | | | |
| In our book, "Dot Calm: The Search for Sanity | | | | - Ignore those e-mails and voice mails that |
| in a Wired World," we provide a wealth of | | | | are not really important. |
| "how to" tips for managing the work-life | | | | |
| challenge: | | | | 2. TAKE DAILY "TIME-OUTS" |
| | | | |
| The first step: JUST SAY NO!-and draw clear | | | | - Take a nap, a walk, or a mini-meditation |
| boundaries. This takes on multiple forms: | | | | break with a few minutes of silence. |
| | | | |
| - Turn off your cell phone when you shouldn't | | | | - Maintain daily rituals, such as teatime, |
| be interrupted. | | | | meditation, prayer, exercise. |
| | | | |
| - Don't take a cell phone to an appointment | | | | - Leave the office-and leave your work there. |
| or when you are focusing on someone else. | | | | |
| | | | 3. TAKE MINI SABBATICALS. |
| - Don't give out your cell phone number. Use | | | | |
| it only for outgoing calls. | | | | - Enjoy a weekend trip with family or |
| | | | friends. |
| - Screen calls using caller ID. | | | | |
| | | | - Schedule game night (or movie night or |
| - Block out time when you will not be | | | | pizza night) with your family. |
| interrupted. | | | | |
| | | | - Plan a work-free family day at least one |
| - Hold certain times "sacred." If you make a | | | | weekend each month. |
| commitment for a social or family event, | | | | |
| honor that commitment without interruptions. | | | | 4. NURTURE THE SOUL AND MIND. |
| | | | |
| - Use the "delete" option early and often. | | | | - Read a good book (unrelated to your work). |
| | | | |
| - Arrange for calls from the office only in | | | | - Participate in community service activity |
| cases of emergency. | | | | with your family. |
| | | | |
| - Maintain your commitment to "work-free" | | | | - Go to a movie, the theater, the opera, or |
| vacations. | | | | the museum. |
| | | | |
| - Make sure you are clear about what you | | | | 5. NOURISH THE BODY. |
| value and what is important to you. | | | | |
| | | | - Exercise regularly. |
| - Let voice mail or the answering machine | | | | |
| take your calls. | | | | - Eat and sleep well. |
| | | | |
| - On your voice mail greeting, be clear about | | | | - Get a massage. |