Category: Work-Life Balance

Having a good balance between work and home life is more than just a good idea. It’s proven to be better for the bottom line and productivity. The most successful and satisfied people have a balance.

A study by the CEB Corporate Leadership Board, a conglomeration of CEOs from 80 percent of the Fortune 500 companies, studied 50,000 employees across the globe. Their findings? “Employees who believe that they have good work-life balance work 21% harder than those who don’t.” Inc Magazine took a long look at what balancing work and home life means to business and industry.

We’ve identified six areas that can deliver these kinds of results.

1. Identify Imbalances

This is the most important part and sometimes the hardest. You need to try to stand back and objectively view the situation. You’ve got the skill set to analyze business situations. Use these skills in your personal life.

Anja Hume, (website in German) from Germany, is a balance coach. She developed a pie chart with eight sections: Work, Friends, Family, Body, Spirituality, Home, Personal Development, Free time. Each section is filled in to represent how happy you are with that part of your overall life.

Areas that are not filled in need probably more attention. You can generally assume that the more balance you have, the better you will be in every area of your life including work.

The higher life satisfaction you will have. At the same time, the sections don’t have to be equal, but you do have to understand and accept that sometimes the sectors are out of balance. Sometimes accepting these imbalances is enough to significantly increase your overall happiness.

2. Set New Life Priorities

With the whole picture in front of you, set new life priorities to bring more balance into the pie chart in the future. More balance will help you be more productive.

Plan specific goals for your life. Your business should be a part of this, but you also need goals not connected to the business.

A lot of people have a bucket list. What’s on yours? How close are you to achieving everything on the list? What must you do to achieve those goals? Are the goals realistic?

3. Slow Down

This is the second most important part. Look at it this way: no machine can run 24/7 indefinitely. It must have downtime for maintenance and repair. The harder the work, the more maintenance, and downtime must be planned. Work for the machine must be arranged by priority. What’s the most effective and efficient use of the machine that delivers the best results? The same applies to you.

Your employees look to you for instruction, guidance, and inspiration. They are going to try to copy what you are doing. Help them to slow-down after a tough project by leading the way. You set the pace.

4. Adapt

“No battle plan survives contact with the enemy,” said Helmuth von Moltke, a German strategist. You have to be willing to make changes, sometimes on the fly, to meet the circumstances. Former NFL player and immensely respected NFL coach Tony Dungy put it this way, “You can’t always control circumstances. However, you can always control your attitude, approach, and response. Your options are to complain or to look ahead and figure out how to make the situation better.”

This is another area where you have the skills needed to succeed. When things go in a different direction at the office, you are flexible. You can react and cope. Your life doesn’t always go the way you want it to, but you can change plans and still come out ahead if you pay attention and use what you have.

5. Simplify

Find out what you need and keep that. Get rid of the things you don’t need. You already do this in business. If something is not meeting the bottom line, you either change things so it does or you get rid of it. A good work-life balance pays big dividends across the board.

To go simple, start simple. Pick one area of your life an examine. Start with your wardrobe. How many shoes do you really need? How many suits do you need? If there’s something the closet you haven’t worn for years, get rid of it. That done, move on to the next part of your life.

6. Delegate

This is one more area where you have the skills in business. Apply to the other parts of your life. Where can you delegate? How much can you delegate?

Some stuff, you must handle it. There’s no substitute for you being at your kid’s birthday party. Some can be put on others. As kids get older, they should take on more responsibilities around the house. Get a housekeeper. You may have to pay the household bills, but someone else in the house can sort them and send you the important parts.

When delegating in your personal life, always remember to ask instead of telling. When you ask, you are inviting the other person to step in and help you. That makes a big difference.

Got ideas to better balance work and life? Share them with us. Let us hear from you.

1. Put Sex on Your To-Do List…

… But start with intimacy. Somewhere in your daily planner between “work out at the gym” and “set the alarm for the morning,” you should be scheduling an hour of intimacy with your partner. Okay, maybe an hour seems like an eternity with your heavy schedule, so try a half hour or even 15 minutes when it’s a very busy day. Intimacy is the best prologue to a healthy and satisfying sex life according to Emotional Fitness for Intimacy author Barton Goldsmith Ph.D. “The most important intimate moments are those that happen outside of the bedroom,” says Goldsmith, and studies prove him right.

You build intimacy that leads to heightened sexual desire through kind gestures, listening to your partner with complete attention, random hugs, and kisses that last longer than a typical three-second peck on the cheek.

Researchers at Arizona State University report that married or committed couples that were instructed to kiss frequently experienced less daily stress and a greater level of relationship satisfaction. A surprising side effect of kissing was a decrease in “bad” cholesterol levels implying that it’s not just an apple a day that keeps the doctor away but also a healthy dose of kissing. And, it’s no surprise that kissing also stimulates sexual desire and romantic feelings.

2. Leave Work at Your Doorstep.

Learn how to flip the script. The minute you walk in the door after a busy workday, you need to train yourself to adjust and embrace your home, family and romantic partner. Keep your evening responsibilities limited by planning ahead so that chores like meal preparation and household tasks don’t take up your entire night. If you think about work when you’re home, you’ll end up working even on your downtime. There is no time or desire to have sex if you are constantly working.

3. Use Your Senses to Set the Stage

Use all of your five senses to get in the mood for lovemaking. Unlike most men who can be aroused quickly, most women need some mental and physical foreplay to prepare for the main event. Take a warm shower and feel the soothing rhythm of water droplets on your skin. Smell the scent of your partner’s favorite cologne. Listen to the music of some of your favorite artists whether it’s Barry White, Sting or Frank Sinatra. Watch the candlelight flicker and dance while you focus on the taste of a glass of wine or a ripe, red strawberry. Use all of your senses to relax and prepare physically and mentally for some quality lovemaking.

4. Quickies Aren’t Necessarily Bad

A long, leisurely lovemaking session is obviously fulfilling and enjoyable. With enough free time, even busy professional couples can relax and relish a loving sexual encounter. But, what happens when the time is limited, yet the desire for sex is palpable? That’s when a quickie is a great idea. Quickies are fun and are known to ramp up your sexual interest for future lovemaking. A quick romp in the laundry room, basement, office or master bathroom offers the excitement of an unusual place to have sex and the immediacy of intense sexual gratification.

The novelty of sex outside of the bedroom acts as an aphrodisiac in many couples. You can still make it on time to that lunch date or child’s soccer game with a smile on your face. Think of a quickie as a sexual snack that feeds your immediate sexual desire without spoiling your appetite for a full, three-course lusty meal later on. Psychologists agree that the more sex you have the more you want.

5. Try an Afternoon Delight

It’s rare that two busy professionals are able to give up an hour of work time in the afternoon to meet for a sexual rendezvous. However, many extracurricular affairs occur during normal work hours. So, how do these busy professionals find the opportunity to be together? The lovers create excuses to leave work like medical appointments, emergency household repairs or other creative reasons for leaving work.

Known as matinees or afternoon delights, these sexual encounters are just as exciting when you plan a tryst with your own partner. It’s role-playing without the guilt of a real affair. Let love take a backseat to pure sexual pleasure. Plan a secret meeting with your partner during the day for a sexual tryst even if you’ve been together for years.

6. Turn off Social Media and Turn on Sexually

Social media can be all-consuming. According to a report published in The Telegraph, “The average person has five social media accounts and spends around 1 hour and 40 minutes browsing these networks every day.” Now, think of how you can improve your sex life by using that hour and 40 minutes to enjoy the spiritual, physical and mental benefit of having sex with someone you love?

Even if you aren’t in a committed relationship, sex is still an important aspect of a woman’s life. Find a sexual partner you can trust, like a friend with benefits, and enjoy the purely physical enjoyment of sexual release. As Woody Allen said, “Sex without love is a meaningless experience, but as far as meaningless experiences go its pretty damn good.”

Do you use other strategies to improve your sex life? Share your comments with us!