Comments on: Work/Life Balance?

By: Spending Time and Money « D3Coaching

Spending Time and Money « D3Coaching — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 00:27:54 +0000

[...] to me for executive coaching to help find and achieve “work/life balance.” Similar to the “Work/Life Balance?” entry from fellow L2L contributor Scott Archibald, this client felt that technology was [...]

By: Spending Time and Money « Leadership Conversations

Spending Time and Money « Leadership Conversations — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 00:14:22 +0000

By: Monica

Monica — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 18:05:49 +0000

I, personally welcome the blur. It allows me to get a lot done in all of my life. To attend kid functions and still not be totally out of touch (screening calls, and using assistants to text message). I find I can turn it off when I need, but 5 am emails are alright with me. I get to enjoy a quiet home and am already perky when the kids and hubby get up for breakfast! Speed becomes me…and I do make sure to unwind. I think my greatest balance challenge this year is about making time for physical excercise…I have become all brains (ja ja)!

By: Christopher V. Vitto

Christopher V. Vitto — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 01:11:04 +0000

Suggested reading “The Age of Speed” by Vince Poscente

By: lvarchie

lvarchie — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 15:59:54 +0000

Jill, Your reply paints a picture that I think many in the corporate world have experienced, and unfortunately many still are experiencing. I have coutless friends and colleagues have left corporate for the similar reasons that you did. Good luck with your business!
Scott

By: jill cooper

jill cooper — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 09:19:03 +0000

I gave up employment to go self-employed 19 months ago. The main reason? No work-life balance. From the original job description of 1 1/2 pages when I started, in 2 years it had become 4 pages. My ‘to do list’ grew daily and I couldn’t even tick one thing off a day. I had about 80 emails a day and the majority needed actioning, back-to-back meetings for meetings sake which I was ‘required’ to attend, and I worked all day, evening and weekends. I wasn’t a ‘yes’ person and so I did say ‘no’ and challenge things but in a large organisation I was often powerless to influence or change happened extremely slowly even once I got agreement for change. Before my sanity left me and my children forgot who I was I stepped off the treadmill overnight. I now work long hours but I don’t have an unachievable workload, my ‘to do’ list is less than a page, I spend time with my boys and my sanity has returned – although not my memory but that could be just age! It’s not just technology that has had an impact. We expect things today/now and no longer accept time delays as technology has facilitated quick response time. We need to cut costs so we keep manpower to a minimum and I don’t come across any manager who doesn’t have more than is reasonable for a workload. Employers expectations are high as competition is often global and we have to compete on price, quality and service. So managers and staff have to work harder for longer and produce results against unrealistic expectations. Employers still don’t recognise stress or manage it and take responsibility for it – they don’t understand it, they are living with it themselves and they can’t afford to buy-in that extra person to reduce the pressures. We want it now, our customers want it now, our staff want it now, and so we continue to behave like hamsters in a wheel, racing against time and often getting nowhere. In the end I think we sometimes have to just think about ‘number one’ and decide if we want to and can cope with living with the unrealistic and unhealthy expectations of others. I took the decision that my family and my health deserved more and now I work long hours out of choice, to earn enough to live and to live a fuller life with my children. But it’s a risk and who knows if my business will survive long-term but that’s the only stress I have compared to pressure from boss, staff, the organisation, customers, family, etc – it’s working for me and long may it continue.

By: Bill Krenek

Bill Krenek — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 13:00:14 +0000

Scott, We are on the same page here. The devices do not get to the woods or trails yet. I also fing that rising early to get in my “quiet time” with God, gives me a balance and priority set for the remainder of each day. As one of those associates that benefitted greatly from your time with employees, I congratulate you on this blog spot and your ability to “Walk the Talk”!