How to achieve harmony between your work life and your personal life

2. the quality of forming a pleasing and consistent whole.
an even distribution of weight enabling someone or something to remain upright and steady.

3. Married 38 years
4 grown children and 7 grandchildren (#8 under construction)
Part 1 – real jobs
Studied Business Admin and Electro Mechanical Engineering
Engineering services manager by age 26
80 hour weeks
Travelled extensively when kids were young
When at work thought of home
When at home thought of work

4. Part 2 – entrepreneur
Created and managed several consulting businesses
(software development, IT, Communications, Web development,
marketing, etc.)
Some overlapped
Lots more travel
Some clients overwhelm your time IE: assume you should always
be available.

5. Ego is the anaesthesia that deadens the pain of stupidity

7. Work-Life Harmony does not mean an equal
balance.Trying to schedule an equal number of hours
for each of your various work and personal activities is
usually unrewarding and unrealistic. Life is and should
be more fluid than that.

8. Your best individual work-life balance will vary over
time, often on a daily basis.
The right balance for you today will probably be
different for you tomorrow.The right balance for you
when you are single will be different when you marry,
or if you have children; when you start a new career
versus when you are nearing retirement.

9. There is no perfect, one size fits all solution you should strive
for. It is different for all of us because we have different lives
and different priorities.
However, at the core of an effective work-life balance
definition are two key everyday concepts that are relevant to
each of us.
They are daily Achievement and Enjoyment, ideas almost
deceptive in their simplicity.

10. Achievement and Enjoyment answer the big question
“Why?”
Why do you want a better income…a new house…the
kids through college…to do a good job today…to
come to work at all?

11. Most of us already have a good grasp on the meaning
of Achievement.
But let’s explore the concept of Enjoyment a little
more.
As part of a relevantWork-Life Harmony definition,
enjoyment does not just mean “Ha-Ha” happiness.
It means Pride, Satisfaction, Happiness, Celebration,
Love, A Sense ofWell Being …all the Joys of Living.

12. What’s my purpose in life?”
I just want to achieve something today and I want to
enjoy something today.
If I do both of those things today, I’m going to have a
pretty good day.
And if I do both of those things every day, for the rest
of my life… I’m going to have a pretty good life.

16. When do you say “no”
Is saying no hard for you?
How do you decide when to say no?

17. A lot of overachievers develop perfectionist
tendencies at a young age when demands on
their time are limited to school, hobbies and
maybe an after-school job. It’s easier to
maintain that perfectionist habit as a kid, but
as you grow up, life gets more complicated.
As you climb the ladder at work and as your
family grows, your responsibilities
mushroom. Perfectionism becomes out of
reach, and if that habit is left unchecked, it
can become destructive,
Let go of perfectionism

18. From telecommuting to programs that make
work easier, technology has helped our lives
in many ways. But it has also created
expectations of constant accessibility.The
work day never seems to end.There are times
when you should just shut your phone off and
enjoy the moment.
Unplug

19. One of our most crucial needs - exercise - is
often the first thing to go when our calendars
fill up. Exercise is an effective stress reducer.
It pumps feel-good endorphins through your
body. It helps lift your mood and can even put
you in a meditative state.
Balance doesn’t always mean the completion
and achievement of a personal or work
related task, it should also include self-care
so that your mind, body and soul are
refreshed.
Exercise and meditate

20. First, identify what’s most important in your
life.This list will differ for everyone, so make
sure it truly reflects your priorities, not
someone else’s. Next, draw firm boundaries
so you can devote quality time to these high-
priority people and activities.
If email, internet and social media surfing
sends you into a time-wasting spiral,
establish rules to keep you on task.
Focus on the people and activities that
reward you the most.
Limit time-wasting activities and people

21. We’ve all been there: crash diets that fizzle
out, NewYear’s resolutions we forget by
February. It’s the same with work-life balance
when we take on too much too quickly.
If you’re trying to change a certain script in
your life, start small and experience some
success.
Change the structure of your life

22. Sometimes we fall into a rut and assume our
habits are set in stone.Take a birds-eye view
of your life and ask yourself: What changes
could make life easier?
Instead of trying to do it all, focus on
activities you specialize in and value most.
Delegate or outsource everything else.
Delegating can be a win-win situation
Start small. Build from there.

24. Newtonian time: Finite amount of time and
you have to get everything done within it.
TIME ACTS ON US
1. Bored
2. Not enough time… always catching up

25. Einstein time:Time is relative.You are the
source of time.
An hour with your beloved feels like a minute
A minute sitting on a hot stove feels like an hour

26. For your life to be harmonious you must change
your relationship with time.
The best way to do that is stop complaining
about time
• I wish I had time to stop and chat, but I’m in a hurry.
• Where did the time go?
• There simply aren’t enough hours in the day.
• If only I’d gotten another hour of sleep.
• Love to talk but I’ve gotta run…
• I have to get to the bank…
• I don’t have time to do that right now.

27. Where in my life am I not taking full ownership?
What am I trying to disown?
What aspect of my life do I need to take full ownership of?
Here’s the principle behind this:
Stress and conflict are caused by resisting acceptance and ownership.