As an advocate of work / life balance, I constantly encourage my clients to achieve that equilibrium in their own lives. I am posting some comments while on a family vacation in the resort town of Whistler B.C. Vacations can be a good time to reflect on life, work, lessons learned and the future. I have had some of my best ideas and insights while on vacation. I find checking in and occasionally doing a bit of work, ideally on a raining day, keeps me connected and on top of developing issues or opportunities. The risk with this approach is that it is easy to get sucked into a project and before you know it you are using your valuable vacation time to work and make those vacationing with you angry because of your inability to turn things off. A number of years ago, we went to the Sunshine Coast for spring break and because of a client procrastinating in giving me the necessary information, and me not asserting myself by giving him a deadline, I had to spend time working. Unfortunately my wife and kids had to do some of activities on their own while I worked. What I learned from this experience were two things: make sure my clients know I am going away and will not be available; and, that it is much better to work late a few nights before leaving if necessary to complete my “A” priorities. Work / life balance is much easier to achieve when the right priority management skills are applied.
Since I am currently on vacation, I don’t want to take too much time writing on the topic otherwise I’m not heeding my own advice. Here’s a link to a related article with tips and suggestions for improving your effectiveness.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/small-business/sb-tools/ten-sensible-tips-to-achieve-work-life-balance/article553212/
“Balance is not better time management, but better boundary management. Balance means making choices and enjoying those choices.”
~ Betsy Jacobson