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Beat the Work/Life Balance Conundrum with a Quality of Life Context: The Work/Life Balance Conundrum (v1n7, July 2004)

By Burt Woolf

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Beat the Work/Life Balance Conundrum with a Quality of Life Context: The Work/Life Balance Conundrum (v1n7, July 2004)

By Burt Woolf

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I don’t like using the term “work/life balance” to describe the relationship between my personal and professional worlds. For me, the word “balance” suggests an “either/or” relationship between my personal life and professional work—as if when I’m at work, I’m not in my real life; and when I’m not at work, my job somehow disappears from my consciousness.

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Work–Life Balance: History, Costs, and Budgeting for Balance

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Work–Life Balance: History, Costs, and Budgeting for Balance

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Abstract

The concept and difficulties of work-life balance are not unique to surgeons, but professional responsibilities make maintaining a work-life balance difficult. Consequences of being exclusively career focused include burn out, physical, and mental ailments. In addition, physician burn out may hinder optimal patient care and incur significant costs on health care in general. Assessing current uses of time, allocating goals catered to an individual surgeon, and continual self-assessment may help balance time, and ideally will help prevent burn out.

Keywords: work-life balance, physician burn out, creation of goals

CME Objectives: On completion of this article, the reader should be aware that being exclusively career focused can have negative consequences to the individual physician, patients, and health care as a whole and should also be aware of a set of tools to help evaluate and assess and prioritize work and life activities.

Work-life balance is often discussed and difficult to achieve. There is significant data that our ability to continue as productive contributing surgeons may be affected by our work-life balance, and that costs of physician burn out are both personal and professional. Although achieving work-life balance is an individual task that cannot be standardized, tools for assessing work-life balance and evaluating priorities may be helpful in increasing awareness of imbalances.

History

The concept of work-life balance is not new to our generation or unique to our profession. The idea that one should limit the amount of time spent at work dates back to manufacturing laws of the late 1800s when the work hours of women and children were restricted. By 1938, the Fair Labor Standards Act established a 44-hour work week, although professionals such as doctors were assumed to be perennially "on call."

The Women's Liberation Movement of the 1980s brought work-life balance back to the forefront. To accommodate women in the work force, flexible working schedule and maternity leave were popularized. Initially, this concept was only for women, expected to both hold down careers and continue primary management of the family and home. Soon, these benefits and ideas were expanded to encompass professional men and women. The idea that people would want to have balance between their professional and personal lives, more flexibility in managing their schedule, and presumptively increase satisfaction from work and life became a key concept in the late 20th century.

Today, work-life balance is also a multimillion dollar industry, and a deciding factor in choosing jobs as diverse as Wall Street bankers and physicians. A Google search for "work-life balance" brings up more than 296,000,000 results including links for tools for work-life balance, scientific articles, and consulting companies to help create work-life balance.

Work-life balance for surgeons is particularly complex. Most surgeons were raised by mentors who gave up much of their life to virtually live at the hospital as "residents" and continued on working long hours as staff surgeons. In the three "A's of physician excellence"-able, affable, and available-available is often the easiest to perfect, at least early on. Of course, the acuity of patients and patient needs make it easy for surgeons to become and remain a "workaholic."

Costs of Working Hard

The consequences of our jobs and the hours that we work have a greater toll on our ability to be good surgeons and to be good people than we may recognize. Work-life imbalance is associated with decreased job satisfaction, productivity, and eventual burn out. For physicians and surgeons with demanding clinical and academic schedules along with long training pathways, there are both personal and professional reasons to maintain work-life balance.

Data demonstrate that being a physician affects our mental health. Depression levels are reported to be markedly higher in physicians than in the general population. Several studies demonstrate that depression, substance abuse, and suicide levels among medical students and physicians are two to six times the national averages.1 2 Shanafelt et al found 30% of surgeons screened positive for depression and 40% met criteria for burn out in a survey of American College of Surgeons.3 They found that factors independently associated with burn out included younger age, having children, area of specialization, number of nights on call per week, hours worked per week, and having compensation determined entirely based on billing.

Working hard also affects our home life. Only 36% of surgeons felt their work schedule left enough time for personal and family life and only 51% would recommend their children pursue a career as a physician or surgeon. There is a significantly higher rate of divorce among surgeons compared with their internal medicine colleagues. In addition, in a study of 1,118 married physicians, surgeons were found to have a divorce rate of 33% even after 30 years of marriage, showing that this takes a significant long term and sustained toll on the family.4

Physicians also often sacrifice physical health as well. Multiples studies have demonstrated physical effects of long working hours, lack of access to health foods, and loss of sleep. A Canadian study demonstrated ketonuria, a marker for dehydration, in as many as 20% of residents' shifts.5 Access to food may be limited for busy surgeons; a study of hospital cafeterias found that most physicians thought hours were too restricted to allow for use of the cafeteria and were dissatisfied with the availability of healthy food options.6 Poor eating habits may then result in poorer work performance. A study correlated decreased glucose levels with poorer performance on cognitive testing.7

Even in their personal life, many physicians do not take time to ensure their own good health. Most residents do not access preventative health care regularly. One study showed that only 38% of resident physicians have a personal physician, 25% of physicians with chronic illnesses, and 40% of those using prescription medications still do not see a primary care physician (PCP) regularly.8

Physicians' poor personal mental and physical health may also have a negative impact on their patients. A study demonstrated that medical students with poor personal health profiles were less likely to recommend evidence-based screening to their patients or counsel for healthy lifestyle.9 10 A 2012 study demonstrated that normal body mass index physicians were more likely than overweight or obese physicians to record a diagnosis of obesity in their patients, initiate a weight loss conversation, and counsel patients on exercise and diet.11

Studies have demonstrated that physicians who work fewer hours have better efficiency than those who work full time.12 Specifically, in a study of academic PCP practices, rates of patient satisfaction, compliance with screening guidelines, and resource utilization were similar for part-time PCPs compared with full-time PCPs. Productivity per clinical hour was markedly higher for part-time PCPs.

Physician burn out is expensive for the health care industry as a whole. Physicians who are highly dissatisfied with their jobs have an increased risk of changing jobs or leaving medicine altogether. A University of Ottawa study found 50% of physicians respondents thought about leaving academic medicine and 30% thought of leaving medicine altogether.13 The cost of hiring a new physician is believed to be $113,000 to 250,000 at a minimum, with costs in some established subspecialties ranging as high as $900,000.14 Costs of training physicians are even substantially higher.

Despite this body of evidence that suggests a marked detriment to physicians and surgeons from excessive work hours, few of us are aware of these data and even fewer feel empowered or understand how to break this destructive cycle.

Defining Work-Life Balance

One of the issues in perfecting work-life balance is that the understanding of work-life balance remains a bit evasive. Wikipedia defines it as "a concept including proper prioritizing between "work" (career and ambition) and "lifestyle" (health, pleasure, leisure, family, and spiritual development/mediation).15 For surgeons, work can encompass many different tasks: operating, clinic, paperwork, administrative duties, teaching responsibilities, committee work, grant and paper writing, presentations, traveling to conferences, and journal reading. Especially in this age of technology, these responsibilities are not relegated to the time spent "at work" but can spill over onto "life" time as well. Life is generally everything else. It should encompass physical needs such as exercise, nutrition, personal health, sleep. "Life" should also include activities that promote spiritual and emotional wellness, commitments to family, friends, religion, and community. Practically, it must also include activities of daily living such as laundry, paying bills, and performing household chores. When one lists the various elements that comprise "work" and "life" for an academic surgeon, it becomes immediately clear why this endeavor to find "work-life balance" is indeed a daunting challenge.

Although we may understand the components of work-life balance, it is even more challenging to define and achieve "proper prioritization." First of all, what may consist of proper prioritization for one person may be unworkable for another. One surgeon may be comfortable working indefinitely 7 days and seeing his/her own patients, each and every day, while others might need to find a different balance. Second, the surgeon's personal concept of prioritization may be very different from the priorities of those around the surgeon including the patient, administration, work colleagues, family, or friends. Each of these important people may have preexisting expectations for what the surgeon should commit to them. And each surgeon may have different ideas regarding which are these expectations are reasonable.

The truth is, there are few, if any, rules to guide the surgeon and help create an appropriate work-life balance. Although many of us were "raised" surgically in an era where the surgeon's life revolved around their hospital, new work hour rules, coverage schemes, and workflow data suggest that physicians may actually have an improved job performance when their time is split between work and nonwork tasks.

In researching and writing this article, it has become evident that there is no single standard for work-life balance. Therefore, success is only possible when one seeks his/her own personal work-life balance. It is also for this reason that the self-appointed work-life coaches or "gurus" can only help with tools to achieve balance in the various components of our work and life rather than find that balance for us.

A Budget for Work-Life Balance

The truth is that work-life balance for a surgeon is not a see-saw. Work and life will probably never be equal and that striving for this as a goal is probably not the recipe that will allow for job satisfaction or prevent burn out.

Instead, it may be more effective to think about a work-life budget. Just as a budget is made at the beginning of each year for the hospital, or the home, a budget should be made for work and life. And just as importantly, the budget for work-life balance needs to be individualized to best meet needs of the individual.

Most budget guidelines describe three necessary steps to creating a budget:

1. Identify how you are spending your time now.

2. Set goals to identify your long-term objectives.

3. Track your results to see how you are doing.

Identify How You Are Spending Your Time Now

While our administrators, families, and patients may track our time for their own needs, we often neglect this important step. In any budget process, it is important to determine where resources are currently allocated to create a practical and achievable budget going forward.

The first step in the process is to keep a log of your time for a week or more. Consider using an excel spreadsheet to monitor where and how you spend your time for a week. This is an extremely useful task to see a clear picture of how time is spent.

Once you have recorded a week of your time, separate out the time you spent into categories: direct patient care (clinic/operating/rounding), clerical tasks (paperwork/phone calls/emails), administrative tasks (hospital committees/staff meetings), academic work (research/grants/writing), educational (teaching/reading/lectures/continuing medical education [CME]), and societal activities (committees/conference calls). Look at how time is allocated during nonworking hours among family, friends, exercise, sleeping, and running errands. Also make sure to look at how much time "away" from work you are continuing to work: checking on patients by phone, email, or computer, doing academic or administrative work at home. It is essential that you be honest in your assessment of your time.

Once you have completed your day-to-day analysis, map out your time on an annual basis: how many days are allotted to clinic, operating, and administration. Do you use all of your vacation days, CME days? How are you using them?

Sometimes, it is enlightening just to realize where time is well spent or where time is squandered. Often a significant amount of time is being used in between activities and virtually unaccounted for. Being aware of this time and making it more useable may help improve your budget, even before implementing any changes.

Set Goals to Identify Your Long-Term Objectives

The chances of success in creating a plan without assessing personal and career goals are slim. Goals should be short term, mid-range, and long term. This exercise must take into account the expectations of administrators, partners, patients, family, and self.

The goals should help you allocate how much time you wish to spend in each aspect of your life. Initially when creating goals, the task should focus on what you would like to achieve. For instance, in the first step, you would create an ideal number of work relative value units for the upcoming year, or years. After creating that particular goal, time allocations should be placed on each activity. Be realistic. Not only do you need time for clinic and operating room but returning patient phone calls, reviewing data, preparing for surgery should be included during the time allocation.

Think broadly when creating your goals. Are you interested in getting more involved in hospital administration, societal activities, and academics? Create workable goals in terms of both what you want to achieve and how much time it will take to achieve that goal.

Do not neglect your personal life when creating these goals. If a goal is to make it to your child's Wednesday soccer games, make sure it is written into your schedule and then the time is allocated to get there. Make sure that you create goals that include personal health, exercise, spiritual health, and seeing your doctor and dentist.

While creating your goals, budget for the unexpected: just as in a household budget, there has to be some "reserve" time. Perhaps sick patients will require additional time at work, a grant proposal, or administrative task will require a change of plans. Just as possible is an unexpected illness, traffic jam, or "life" obstacle that can take you away from work. Some extra unaccounted for time can help make up for some of these short-term shortfalls.

Look at opportunities to multitask. Some things may be simple-instead of waiting for the elevator, get some exercise, and take the stairs. Having your administrator put together a list of return phone calls each day so that you can make calls on your commute home and get home faster.

Track Your Results to See How You Are Doing

Most of us are goal oriented. The more graphically we identify our successes and failures, the more inspired we are to perform. You need to track your results.

Stick to your budget. If you have committed to taking all of your vacation time, put in on the calendar, schedule the vacation time, and take it. Try to differentiate the time needed to spend extra hours at the hospital for patient emergencies versus "work creep," staying late to do "one more thing," finishing office notes remotely during family time. One of the difficulties of our era is that we are always accessible, by phone, pager, and computer. If you have allocated time for "nonwork" activities, let your partners/office know, and then try to get away.

Keeping a tally of how you are doing will help you keep on track. It will also help you determine what tasks to take on and what tasks to defer. When an opportunity to join a new committee comes up, you can determine what the time commitment might be, and how that fits into your plans. If it is a terrific opportunity, then it may be worth reallocating some time, but this way it becomes a thoughtful decision, rather than a scramble as to where this new task will fit into the "budget."

Benchmarks for Success

To us, success is just to be happier and healthier as a person, a surgeon, a scientist, a spouse, a parent, a child, and as a friend. Whatever benchmarks for success that you choose for yourself is as valid as anyone else's goals. It is important to be comfortable setting and keeping your priorities. Studies show that when physicians identify the part of their work that they find meaningful and perform it at least 20% of the time, they are far less likely to burn out that those who do not do so.16 Just being aware of work-life balance can actually improve career satisfaction, a study of family medicine physicians demonstrated that performing simple work-life "mindfulness" activities helped improve burn out markers within 9 months.17

Unfortunately or fortunately, work-life balance is not static but rather dynamic. Rather than a single one time activity, determining the right course for you and assessing your goals is an ongoing process. The good news is that this can constantly be changed to accommodate new needs; the bad news is that maintaining your work-life balance is an ongoing task, unlikely to disappear from your "to do" list anytime soon.

References

13. Myers M, ed. CMA Guide to Physician Health and Well Being; Canadian Medical Association: Ottawa ON, 2003 [ Google Scholar]

14. Rayburn W F Shulkin J, eds. Changing landscape of academic women's health care in United States London: Springer; 2011 [ Google Scholar]

Articles from Clinics in Colon and Rectal Surgery are provided here courtesy of Thieme Medical Publishers

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Work-Life Balance: History, Costs, and Budgeting for Balance

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The concept and difficulties of work-life balance are not unique to surgeons, but professional responsibilities make maintaining a work-life balance difficult. Consequences of being exclusively career focused include burn out, physical, and mental ailments. In addition, physician burn out may hinder optimal patient care and incur significant costs on health care in general.

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The Quest for Work-Life Balance | American Libraries Magazine

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These books cover the importance of wellness, preventing burnout, practicing mindfulness, and essential self-care practices.

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A planner for balancing life and work (out of print)

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A planner for balancing life and work (out of print)

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Awards, publishing, and conferences: ALA membership advocates to ensure access to information for all

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Library Worklife: HR E-News for Today’s Leaders

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Library Worklife: HR E-News for Today’s Leaders

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Are You Showing Up the Way You Want Others To?

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This article is from the September 2024 issue.

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How To Encourage Work-Life Balance Across Your Organization

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Learn key strategies for fostering work-life balance across your organization and why it’s crucial for your team’s success.

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by Carolyn Lawrence on January 10, 2023

The World Health Organization defines self-care as the ability of individuals, families, and communities to promote health, prevent disease, maintain health, and cope with illness and disability with or without the support of a healthcare provider (World Health Organization 2019). According to the article, What Is Self-Care and Why Is It So Important for Your Health? there are several types of self-care identified including emotional, physical, and spiritual. Emotional self-care consists of giving yourself a break when feeling stressed out, saying "no" to things that you honestly do not want to do and are not essential, and weekly massages. Physical self-care is taking care of one's physical body through eating healthy foods, drinking water, exercising, and getting the proper amount of sleep. Spiritual self-care includes attending a religious service, spending time in nature, practicing meditation/mindfulness, performing regular acts of kindness, or keeping a gratitude journal.

Dr. Gill Lopez categorizes self-care as both temporary and enduring (1)."Temporary self-care can resemble a bubble bath with one's favorite oil fragrance. While enduring self-care is practicing mindfulness regularly because it leads to brain changes," says Lopez (2).

An assistant professor in the School of Information Studies at the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee, Dr. Abigail L. Phillips, talks about additional resources needed besides self-care. In her article, "The Mental Health Needs of the Library Professional: How Are We Doing?" Phillips talks about the problems that library staffers deal with, including interactions with patrons experiencing mental health crises (3). She also mentions the mental health statistics in America; 21.0% of all U.S. adults out of an estimated 52.9 million adults aged 18 or older live with a mental illness and (4) discusses emotional labor and its effects. Emotional labor expresses desired emotions in service delivery (5). In other words, when a library staff member works to convey the emotions of being welcoming, inviting, warm, and open while providing service. Along with mental health issues, emotional labor can lead to burnout and turnover.(6) If one is dealing with their own emotions and then having to express the desired emotion, such as excitement, for example, when dealing with a patron, that can become mentally taxing. Library workers may experience depression, anxiety, hopelessness, and anger due to emotional labor overload (7).

A Canadian study on emotional labor in public libraries showed that libraries need to acknowledge the value of emotional work. Emotional work can be acknowledged through professional guidelines and training and by providing more extensive formalized support for all staff with customer service duties (8). More studies are needed, such as expanding the region to include more libraries as well as looking into various demographics like race and gender in the emotional labor of public library work. An increase in organizational-level training and support for emotional labor and inclusion of this topic in post-secondary library training programs will help to raise awareness and understanding of emotional labor in library work (9).

Along with requiring staff to take their PTO, management should encourage employees to use Employee Assistance Programs (EAP), reminding them of the resources available for mental health. The goal is for libraries to become inclusive and supportive; addressing emotional labor helps achieve this goal. Staff meetings, emails from higher-ups, and newsletters should continuously mention resources beyond self-care. Self-care and self-care interventions are part of the future of healthcare. They should not replace health systems but rather enhance them ( World Health Organization 2022). Dismantling the stigma on mental health on an organizational level with conversations about mental health and other resources such as EAP and taking a mental health day in the libraries and meetings is a great start.

References

1. Lawler, Moira. 2021."What Is Self-Care and Why Is It So Important for Your Health?." Everyday Health. https://www.everydayhealth.com/self-care/

2. Ibid.

3. PHILLIPS, ABIGAIL L. 2022. "The Mental Health Needs of the Library Professional: How Are We Doing?" Information Today 39 (7): 16-17. https://search-ebscohost-com.i.ezproxy.nypl.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=llf&AN=158686304&site=ehost-live.

4. Ibid.

5. Kansoy, Seçil Ulufer. 2022. "The Relationship Between Gender and Emotional Labor: A Research on Flight Attendants." Journal of Aviation 6 (1): 55-60.

6. Phillips, ibid.

7. Phillips, ibid.

8. Rodger, Joanne, and Norene Erickson. 2021. "The Emotional Labour of Public Library Work." Partnership: The Canadian Journal of Library & Information Practice & Research 16 (1): 1-27. doi:10.21083/partnership.v16i1.6189.

9. Ibid.

Tags: emotionallabor, selfcareatthelibrary

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by Carolyn Lawrence on January 10, 2023 The World Health Organization defines self-care as the ability of individuals, families, and communities to promote health, prevent disease, maintain health, and cope with illness and disability with or without the support of a healthcare provider (World Health Organization 2019).

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Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Harper Perennial Modern Classics) [Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Harper Perennial Modern Classics)

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What's the best job for you?

Use The Muse to find a job at a company with a culture you love. Select the career path that aligns with you:

How many years of experience do you have?

What company benefits are most important to you?

Calculating your job matches...

And while it's up for debate whether you can "have it all," you certainly ought to be able to balance everything you've got and live a happy, fulfilling life. To help you out in that pursuit, we've gathered some of the best advice out there on maintaining a healthy work-life balance. Read the tips below, and start implementing some of them today.

Managing Your Time

1. The most game-changing advice I've gotten is this: If you're truly going to act on your priorities, you need to dedicate time to them. So, I took a weekly calendar and some crayons, and mapped out my priorities to create a "typical" week, with time dedicated to each of my priorities: exercise, work, family time, and so forth. I started with the "big rocks:" the most important and least flexible responsibilities (I learned this trick from Stephen Covey). For me, these were work and my children's sports schedules. Then, I decided when I get my best work done. For example, I knew that my job required time for "deep-thinking" work, so I dedicated one day per week to be meeting-free. Alix Hughes

2. One of the biggest struggles is fitting it all in to 24 hours. Waking up at 4 AM gives me extra hours in the day, and this quiet time allows me to complete projects before the house wakes up. Hannah Morgan

3. To make time for hobbies, passions, and relationships outside of work, I've made sure to have a short version of what I'd ideally love to do for busy weeks. I'd rather have a nice long dinner with a friend if I can, but during a busy week, catching a 45-minute coffee during the day is better than not seeing friends at all. I love biking, but it requires more time than I have most weeks, so I've picked up running (reluctantly), since I can do it when I just have 20 minutes. Alex Cavoulacos

@dailymuse reduce or eliminate multi-tasking. Be where you are!

- kylie sachs (@tismoi) November 24, 2013

5. Instead of multi-tasking, I look for ways to overlap things. Best example: When my kids were little, I had no time for hobbies, but I was dying to try birdwatching. So I introduced it to my seven-year old son, thinking he might like it, too. He was hooked, and so we started doing birdwatching together. It became the perfect overlap of time together with a hobby for me.

6. We need to elongate the time frame upon which we judge the balance in our life, but we need to elongate it without falling into the trap of the "I'll have a life when I retire, when my kids have left home, when my wife has divorced me, my health is failing, I've got no mates or interests left." A day is too short; "after I retire" is too long. There's got to be a middle way. Nigel Marsh

Taking Time for You

7. It's important to remember that free time doesn't have to be available time. In other words, just because Wednesday night is empty on your calendar, doesn't mean you have to say "yes" when your co-worker asks you to go to an event with her. It's important to remind yourself that you can turn invitations down for no other reason than you want that time to yourself, that your free time can be just that-free. Erin Greenawald

8. When I have a good chunk of time to myself, I sometimes feel obligated to use it to get other things done, like errands or phone calls-but I've learned that the only way to use that time to truly reduce my stress level is to do something totally for me. A yoga class or quick burst of exercise is a good method to calm your spinning head, or enjoy some light-hearted TV or an ice cream or coffee date with a friend. You could also spend an hour playing with the puppies at the pet store, indulging in the total silence of a library, or browsing for random treasures at a thrift store. Jessica Taylor

9. I block out "me time" in the early evening. Even if I know that I'm going to get back online later and work, I realized that I'm a lot more likely to go to the gym, see friends, or cook myself a real dinner if I give myself 7-9 PM "off" to do those things before getting back online. If I finish all my work first, or even "just do my high priority work"-it's 11 PM before I stop, and I am realistically not going to go to the gym or call anyone up or even cook, I'm just going to finish my work for the night and crash. Melissa McCreery

@dailymuse I use my lunchtime to do some fun stuff - short market/store trips current fave #worklifebalancetips

- Kitchenbutterfly (@Kitchnbutterfly) November 23, 2013

11. Even if I'm feeling busy, I remind myself that time away from work and the computer is energizing and important. Scheduling downtime requires a combination of time management (deciding when else to get the work done), working ahead when possible (so I have more time later), and keeping a to-do list. Miriam Salpeter

Having a Social Life

12. While you usually reserve fun things for the weekends, plan at least one enjoyable activity during the week. You'll be able to head into your work week with something to look forward to and have a way to blow off some steam if the week starts off too strong. Katie Douthwaite

@dailymuse I look for activities that incorporate work and play so I can kill two birds with one stone, such as mixers and networking events - Desirée M. (@ImDesi) November 23, 2013

14. Schedule recurring social activities, like a monthly book club or weekly dinner with your best friends. By having regular activities like this written into your calendar, you'll be able to plan around them (instead of planning your social life around work).

@dailymuse Set times for yourself. If you reserve an evening for plans with friends/family, you'll focus more during the day.

- Melanie Albert (@melealbert) November 24, 2013

Managing Work

16. You'll be hard pressed to find a boss who will object too much to you working on your off hours (unless she's required to by law), but that same boss will be just as impressed if you can do the work in the eight (OK, 10) hours each day you're there already. Make the most of the time you have in the office, and leave the rest for tomorrow. Jennifer Winter

17. If you start telling people you need to leave at a certain time, you'll be much more likely to do so. Make the commitment to yourself, and then share it with others: As you discuss plans and assignments throughout the day, tell your colleagues, "I've got to be out of here on time tonight, so if you need something, let me know by 3 PM." Try this method one day, then another, and then the next. Eventually, you'll retrain your colleagues to expect you to leave on time every day.

18. Ever find yourself staying at work because you don't have a reason not to? Make reasons to leave. Join groups or sign up for exercises classes that meet after work so you have to sign out at a reasonable hour. Make plans with friends ahead of time so you can't back out and just stick around the office.

@dailymuse Methods of #renewal (meditation) coupled with finding projects in the work environment that are #enjoyable help maintain balance

- Paul A. Mabelis (@CognitiveLibert) November 23, 2013

20. You have to plan when you'll leave the office from the beginning of the day. That means understanding what needs to get done for the day and getting it done first so you aren't scrambling after hours to finish up. Also, block out the last 20 minutes before you plan to leave to wrap up loose ends, so you aren't trying to send "one more email" after you were already supposed to head out of the office.

21. Sometimes when you feel surrounded by work, it's because, well, you're surrounding yourself with work. So, be deliberate about taking time before work, after work, or on your lunch break to step away from the office. Call your significant other, your mom, or your best friend, and ask what's going on with them, avoiding the temptation to discuss anything even remotely work-related. Your job may be your focus for the rest of the day, but for a few minutes, move it to the back burner and focus on something (anything) else. Sara McCord

22. Consider some highlights of your perfect day. What would you really enjoy doing? What's absolutely necessary for you to get done? Identify what tools or extras would make the mandatory work easier to complete. Aromatherapy while you grade papers? A powerful run? Figure out what can help you, and build it into your day. Natalie Jesionka

Enjoying Weekends and Vacation

23. Instead of saving all of your life chores for Sunday, get them out of the way as soon as possible, either by doing them first thing Saturday morning or dispersing them throughout the week. That way, instead of spending your last few hours of free time on Sunday night scrubbing the bathtub, you'll be able to fill it with something fun and relaxing. Katie Douthwaite

24. Carve out some time on the weekends-at least a few hours, but ideally a whole day-to stay away from screens. Put your computer and phone away and turn off the TV, then do something physical or creative that you really love. Go for a run. Draw. Write. Your mind will be a little more refreshed and a little sharper by the end of it.

25. I always faced a double-edged sword on the weekends: I loved the feeling of being ahead on Monday morning if I worked during the weekend, but I hated the feeling of losing any of my precious weekend to work. Then, I started doing some of the more mindless work on my plate while I watched a movie on Sunday nights. I still felt like I got a full weekend, but felt ahead of the game come Monday morning. Erin Greenawald

@dailymuse Using my vacation time! For me traveling is relaxing and mentally enriching. I come back to work happier and more focused.

- Brandi Kolmer (@brandikolmer) November 23, 2013

27. The nature of many jobs is that there will never be an easy time to take time off, no matter how well you plan for it in advance. But that's no reason to not go at all. It's in your employer's best interests to have well-rested and recharged employees, and vacation time is a benefit that you've earned, just like salary, so you should use it. So instead of waiting for the perfect time-which may never come along-decide that you will use your vacation time this year, and make the question one of what accommodations should be made, rather than whether accommodations can be made. Alison Green

28. Before you leave for vacation, ask your boss if she expects you to check emails or listen to voice messages while you're gone. While it's often necessary to stay at least a little connected, make sure you proactively set some boundaries. Feel free to let your boss know that you'll only be able to check your phone and email occasionally-say, once a day, or a few times a week. Most bosses will be fine if you only respond to critical messages until after you return to the office. Lynze Wardle Lenio

29. If you don't have enough PTO to take a full vacation, try taking a day off here and there for a stay-cation or long weekend. It may not seem like much, but taking just a day or two to break out of the 9-to-5 grind can do wonders.

Making Time for Family

30. There is a phrase used by Hillary Clinton that stems from an African proverb: "It takes a village." And it does! Getting comfortable with others lending you a hand helps not only to give you comfort that your kids are in good hands, but it helps take the stress away. I chose to have live-in help because I had an unpredictable schedule, lots of travel, late hours, and evening entertaining, and I couldn't have someone who had to look at the clock or bus schedule. But no matter what type of babysitter, nanny, or daycare choices you make, accepting that you just cannot do it all, single-handedly, is the key. Cathie Black

31. When my baby was five months old, my husband and I decided to sleep train him (which basically meant letting him cry it out for three nights in a row). Those nights were extremely hard, but the upside has been nothing short of amazing. Not only do I know that each night from 7:30 PM to 6:30 AM I'll have time to do whatever I want-eat dinner with my husband, catch up on email, watch House of Cards-but our son is so much more rested and in all around better spirits. I know sleep training can be controversial, but as a working parent, I have no doubt it was one of the best things I've done for myself, my relationship, and my baby. Dorothy McGivney

32. If you or your parenting partner is able to web-surf at work, use your downtime to set up auto-ship services for the essentials: diapers, toilet paper, paper towels, and so on. Services like Amazon Prime and Diapers.com sell these items on the cheap, and they'll be delivered to your door with free shipping. Rikki Rogers

33. Flexible hours enabled by technology can allow parents to perform well at their jobs and take care of young children at the same time. If you're an employee, talk with your boss about how working from home could boost your productivity, remembering to share some specific examples of how your work will improve. Richard Branson

Getting Chores Done

34. Make your grocery run as efficient as possible by making a list coordinated to aisles or store sections. Take advantage of coupon apps (many grocery stores have them). And if the whole family has to come along, get everyone involved: If you can walk, you can shop. Rikki Rogers

35. By doing my least favorite chore at the beginning of each week, it feels entirely more manageable, not to mention frees me of the burden throughout the rest of my week. The feeling of work burnout tends to increase as the week moves forward, so by frontloading your work week evenings with your least favorite tasks, you can reserve the more enjoyable work night activities for the end of the week. Monday is for laundry, Tuesday is for vacuuming and bills, Wednesday is for dry cleaning, Thursday is for a DVR marathon. And so on. Rachell Buell

36. When trying to fit more in, minimize the amount of time doing anything you have to do. Try setting a goal to have dinner ready in 30 minutes or less. You'd be surprised how many things can be cooked in 25-30 minutes, and it's a surefire way of getting time back several times a week. Bonus points for cooking several meals' worth on Sunday night and only having five minutes of reheat time.

37. Get creative with what chores you can outsource (and therefore avoid!). There are plenty of services out there that will take care of your least favorite tasks for you, from cleaning and cooking to laundry and shopping. Check out our list of tasks to outsource now to get you started.
Tell us! What are your best tips for work-life balance? Share them in the comments section!

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We know-you've got a lot on your plate. So to help you stay happy, we've gathered some of the best advice on maintaining a healthy work-life balance.

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Five Work Life Balance Myths Busted 2024

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ALA-APA Work Life Balance Tool Kit by the ALA Allied Professional Association.

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Jobs With Work Life Balance - The Wrong Goal

What if striving for the perfect job with work life balance is the wrong goal? Balance, in its conventional sense, is an ideal that many of us chase but rarely capture. The reality is that work and life are in a constant state of flux, forever ebbing and flowing like the tides. The demands of our careers and personal lives are never static, making it challenging to maintain a perfect equilibrium.

So, what if we were to shift our perspective? Instead of fixating on the pursuit of balance, what if we aimed for work life harmony - where we can thrive in both our professional and personal domains? Let's explore why this paradigm shift might offer a more realistic and fulfilling approach.

Many well-intentioned leaders and experts emphasize the importance of achieving work life balance. They prescribe various strategies, such as disconnecting from work after 6 pm, refraining from checking work-related communication until 8 am the next day, instituting flex Fridays, taking more vacations, setting clear boundaries, mastering time management, embracing hybrid work models, and adopting stress management techniques. These recommendations are undoubtedly valuable and can enhance our overall well-being. However, even when they are diligently followed, they may still not lead to the elusive state of balance.

The reason that balance is rarely mastered is that for most of us, work and life are not two separate entities but rather inextricably intertwined. Instead of attempting to compartmentalize work and the rest of life, a more practical approach involves becoming proactive in how we navigate their complex intersection. We can instead learn to adapt to the natural ebbs and flows, adjusting our approach to meet the ever-changing needs that arise.

Unrealistic Expectations at Work and Home

One common misconceptions is the belief that we must perpetually give 110% to everything we do. This misguided expectation often leads to feelings of guilt and inadequacy when we perceive ourselves as falling short in any area. We're expected to excel as employees: closing deals, meeting goals, and chasing bonuses. At the same time, we're expected to be exemplary parents who never miss a Little League game and are always there when our children need us. To compound the matter, there are other domains we strive to excel in like caring for aging parents, orchestrating unforgettable vacations, being a dependable friend, and even training for that next half marathon or exploring a new creative hobby. The contradiction within these expectations becomes glaringly apparent. At the end of the day, we simply don't have the capacity to be it all, know it all, do it all, and care about it.

To shed light on this conundrum, let's draw inspiration from the world of mountaineering. A friend of mine is training to summit a semi-technical "14er" (that's mountaineering lingo for a 14,000-foot tall peak) next summer. She was recently telling me about her training plan, and an important component involves acknowledging that she shouldn't be in peak physical condition six months in advance because it's simply not sustainable. Instead, she should maintain a high level of fitness while continuing her training, reserving peak fitness for the critical moment. Translating this approach back to our professional and personal lives, we can recognize that there will be times when work demands peak performance. There will be other times when our personal lives will require more of us. These two aspects of life are in a constant state of flux and we need to be prepared for when the demands are raised. If we're constantly operating at our peak, there's nothing left to give - and this is why we see so much stress, overwhelm, and burnout.

Inevitably, there will be moments when the weight of work and the weight of our personal lives compound. Both demand our time, attention, and resources. These periods can be incredibly challenging to navigate. However, by reframing our perspective and accepting that balance is a fleeting ideal, we can free ourselves from the guilt and stress associated with striving for the unattainable.

So, how do we not operate at peak performance all the time? We could all do well to heed the wisdom of musician, filmmaker, entrepreneur, Venture Capitalist, and dear friend of mine, Ben Patterson: "Balance is the line that says, 'I can do everything.' There is no balance, but there is a convergence of priorities that is primarily defined by what I say no to." A powerful antidote to the relentless pursuit of peak performance in every facet of life is the simple yet profound act of saying "no" on a regular basis. This deliberate practice empowers us to concentrate our energies on the right tasks at the right time. By saying "no" to certain things, our "yes" becomes more intentional, fostering a sense of purpose and fulfillment.

In conclusion, rather than fixating on the mirage of work life balance, we should aim to thrive in our work and in our personal lives and seek work life harmony. Thriving means embracing the natural ebb and flow of life's demands, adapting to the needs of the moment, and accepting that peak performance in each sphere may occur at different times. By relinquishing the pursuit of balance, we can find a more realistic and sustainable path to fulfillment and contentment, and hopefully avoid the stress and burnout that plague today's corporate world.

Jobs With Work Life Balance - The Wrong Goal

What if striving for the perfect job with work life balance is the wrong goal? Balance, in its conventional sense, is an ideal that many of us chase but rarely capture. The reality is that work and life are in a constant state of flux, forever ebbing and flowing like the tides. The demands of our careers and personal lives are never static, making it challenging to maintain a perfect equilibrium.

So, what if we were to shift our perspective? Instead of fixating on the pursuit of balance, what if we aimed for work life harmony - where we can thrive in both our professional and personal domains? Let's explore why this paradigm shift might offer a more realistic and fulfilling approach.

Many well-intentioned leaders and experts emphasize the importance of achieving work life balance. They prescribe various strategies, such as disconnecting from work after 6 pm, refraining from checking work-related communication until 8 am the next day, instituting flex Fridays, taking more vacations, setting clear boundaries, mastering time management, embracing hybrid work models, and adopting stress management techniques. These recommendations are undoubtedly valuable and can enhance our overall well-being. However, even when they are diligently followed, they may still not lead to the elusive state of balance.

The reason that balance is rarely mastered is that for most of us, work and life are not two separate entities but rather inextricably intertwined. Instead of attempting to compartmentalize work and the rest of life, a more practical approach involves becoming proactive in how we navigate their complex intersection. We can instead learn to adapt to the natural ebbs and flows, adjusting our approach to meet the ever-changing needs that arise.

Unrealistic Expectations at Work and Home

One common misconceptions is the belief that we must perpetually give 110% to everything we do. This misguided expectation often leads to feelings of guilt and inadequacy when we perceive ourselves as falling short in any area. We're expected to excel as employees: closing deals, meeting goals, and chasing bonuses. At the same time, we're expected to be exemplary parents who never miss a Little League game and are always there when our children need us. To compound the matter, there are other domains we strive to excel in like caring for aging parents, orchestrating unforgettable vacations, being a dependable friend, and even training for that next half marathon or exploring a new creative hobby. The contradiction within these expectations becomes glaringly apparent. At the end of the day, we simply don't have the capacity to be it all, know it all, do it all, and care about it.

To shed light on this conundrum, let's draw inspiration from the world of mountaineering. A friend of mine is training to summit a semi-technical "14er" (that's mountaineering lingo for a 14,000-foot tall peak) next summer. She was recently telling me about her training plan, and an important component involves acknowledging that she shouldn't be in peak physical condition six months in advance because it's simply not sustainable. Instead, she should maintain a high level of fitness while continuing her training, reserving peak fitness for the critical moment. Translating this approach back to our professional and personal lives, we can recognize that there will be times when work demands peak performance. There will be other times when our personal lives will require more of us. These two aspects of life are in a constant state of flux and we need to be prepared for when the demands are raised. If we're constantly operating at our peak, there's nothing left to give - and this is why we see so much stress, overwhelm, and burnout.

Inevitably, there will be moments when the weight of work and the weight of our personal lives compound. Both demand our time, attention, and resources. These periods can be incredibly challenging to navigate. However, by reframing our perspective and accepting that balance is a fleeting ideal, we can free ourselves from the guilt and stress associated with striving for the unattainable.

So, how do we not operate at peak performance all the time? We could all do well to heed the wisdom of musician, filmmaker, entrepreneur, Venture Capitalist, and dear friend of mine, Ben Patterson: "Balance is the line that says, 'I can do everything.' There is no balance, but there is a convergence of priorities that is primarily defined by what I say no to." A powerful antidote to the relentless pursuit of peak performance in every facet of life is the simple yet profound act of saying "no" on a regular basis. This deliberate practice empowers us to concentrate our energies on the right tasks at the right time. By saying "no" to certain things, our "yes" becomes more intentional, fostering a sense of purpose and fulfillment.

In conclusion, rather than fixating on the mirage of work life balance, we should aim to thrive in our work and in our personal lives and seek work life harmony. Thriving means embracing the natural ebb and flow of life's demands, adapting to the needs of the moment, and accepting that peak performance in each sphere may occur at different times. By relinquishing the pursuit of balance, we can find a more realistic and sustainable path to fulfillment and contentment, and hopefully avoid the stress and burnout that plague today's corporate world.

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How to Find Work Life Harmony - Focuswise

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People want jobs with work life balance - but what if that's an unattainable goal? Shifting our focus toward work life harmony allows us to allocate our attention to the demands of our professional and personal lives, while recognizing that the natural fluctuations and challenges of life will likely