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Work-life balance:
You may be proud of how hard you work and how much work
you accomplish. I know I am. But I also know there's
a limit. You and I can't keep on working, day and night,
five-six-seven days a week forever. Eventually, the
body will say "enough is enough".
Years ago there was a saying that "all work and no play
makes a person dull. "Today, it's probably more
accurate to say that "all work and no play makes a person
dead. "In fact, Japan has a special government program
to compensate widows and widowers whose spouses literally
work themselves to death.
Unfortunately, it's not easy to find time for recreation.
We're all so busy these days. There's more work than
ever and fewer people to do it. And, to make it even
more difficult, companies tend to reward people whose
lives are totally out of balance. They're given more
respect and bigger paychecks.
So what should you do if you're feeling overwhelmed,
stressed out, burned out, or off balance? First,
REALIZE YOU'LL NEVER BE FINISHED, AND THAT'S OKAY. No
matter how hard you work, you'll never get it all done.
Even on the day you die, there'll still be a few
things in your in box you didn't get to.
Perhaps you were raised like I was. My father always
said "First you work, then you play. Get all your work
done, and then you can relax. "While that's not bad
advice, it is irresponsible advice in today's world.
You and I will never be done, and we must realize that's
okay. It really is.
Once you accept that, the second thing you must do is
SCHEDULE SOME RECREATION. It sounds strange to put some
free time or fun time on your calendar, but I've learned
if it's not on the calendar, it doesn't happen. So plan
some time and then take some time for recreation before
you end up with "wreckreation".
And finally, REFUSE TO BE PROUD OF YOUR BUSYNESS. As
Lee Iacocca said, "Over the years, I've had many
executives come to me and say with pride: 'Boy, last year
I worked so hard that I didn't take any vacation. 'It's
nothing to be proud of. I always feel like responding:
'You dummy. You mean to tell me that you can take
responsibility for an $80 million project and you can't
plan two weeks out of the year to go off with your
family and have some fun. ?'"
Action on work-life balance:
This week put an hour of recreation on your calendar.
Schedule an activity that you will do just for the
health of it. The only criterion you must follow is that
whatever you choose, it must be something that will
make you feel re-created or re-energized afterwards.
More articles:
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