Work out for balance

Think about what happens at the end of a busy work day. Usually that is a time when we are most tired from the stresses of the day, regardless of whether the day has been rewarding or not.

As I have mentioned here before, there really isn’t a formula for balance that works for everyone. After all, we all have differing priorities in our lives and figuring those out is one of the cornerstones to getting to balance. However one of the common ways to a balanced life is to up your exercise quota – not to mention the health benefits. I was reading a blog post to this effect, in connection with marketing on the Duct tape marketing blog.

The point of this post is it’s relationship to productivity. This is a key point in the whole balance equation. Very often a lack of time is cited as a reason for not getting things done and it’s valid. However achieving balance isn’t necessarily about working less. The point of John’s post above (as I read it) is that spending a little time in exercise (30 minutes) results in his getting more things done. If you get more done in the same time there is more time to do what you want isn’t there?

If it isn’t exercise that increases your productivity, what is it? Reading? Taking the kids to school? Playing video games? Figuring it out can really help reduce stress and make the limited hours in the day more productive

Work harder?

OK – are we going into a recession? What does everyone think? I have posted here before on thoughts becoming things so I guess we shouldn’t dwell on it too much. However, it is worth thinking about in the context of how hard are we working.

There is a cliche here about working “smarter not harder”. I once knew a recruitment consultant who entered that business with a specialist consultancy that had a well established track record with defined and proven procedures. Finding people for jobs can be rewarding and in the early days the system worked well and he made placements fairly frequently.

However, like baseball hitters, recruitment consultants can go through slumps. The preferred candidate signs elsewhere, the client decides not to proceed, HR freezes recruitment and so on. About a year into his time at the consultancy this happened to our friend.

This is where you make a success of yourself in recruitment and where the skill comes in. It is seen in the personal side of the job, the talking with candidates, spending more time with clients, looking for innovative sales solutions. The trouble with our friend was he continued with the “process” that had previously served him well and simply cranked the handle a bit harder and got more frustrated when the results didn’t come.

The result? Well, again like a hitter the slump eventually ended but a valuable lesson was learned. You can work harder at doing what you have always done an this might eventually come good (if the processes are sound it probably will). However there are alternative strategies – take a look at the processes and see where the real value is (in this case the personal interactions). Once identified, how can you maximise the value of that piece?

In the case of our friend that was actually a far more rewarding proposition than simply working the system harder, and actually didn’t feel so much like work at all. What can you find in your work that talks to your passions, and also adds value to what you do? If we do get into an economic slow down, finding those things could be very useful…..

Working passionately!

It has been a while since I posted here – been working on my balance, visiting friends and family in the UK and setting up seminars.

All of this reminded me of the cliche: work smarter not harder. I wondered to myself, what does that mean? It seems to be at the heart of achieving work-life balance but how do we go about that? Often times I find that there is an assumption that achieving balance is all about working less hours, spending more time on yourself and family and so on.

However I have posted about our belief systems here before and it is relevant in this context. As soon as we think about reducing our working time we immediately tell ourselves how impossible that is to achieve. You know the sort of thing: “That sounds great in theory but there is no way I could do that” or ” there is no way my company will tolerate that” and so on.

So how do you work smarter? There are lots of technological solutions and time management seminars you could attend but how about actually taking a look at how work fits into your life priorities? What does that mean?

Well I don’t want to minimize how important work is and the necessity for it. However are you truly following your life’s calling when you go to work? What is you passion in life and how is work contributing to that? If work is something you actively dis-like there is a good chance you are not passionate about it and therefore it will always be more of a struggle than doing something you love.

I think this is the root of working smarter – make it something you passionately love to do. Then it will integrate into your life much better and you will probably find yourself working harder too.

How to find such work? Keep in mind the beliefs you hold and the voice telling you you can’t do it and then ask yourself these questions:

1. What is my passion?
2. What would I do if money were no object and I knew I couldn’t fail?
3. What is my ideal working day/ideal working week?
4. What is the first thing I must do to make that a reality?

Write those things down. Then you are on the road to realizing your dream of loving your work. It isn’t an easy road but the rewards are huge!