My Essay Blog

With so much to do and only so many hours in a day, here are three powerful changes you can make RIGHT NOW to free up time, eliminate distractions and get more done (particularly the things that are important to you) each day.

Close Your Email Program

Yes, I said it. Close your email program. I know this may border on heresy for some of you, but think about it. Technology is supposed to make our lives easier, but email is one area where many of us have become slaves to, “You’ve got mail!” That phrase, or it’s “ding” counterpart can rip us away from just about anything we’re doing when we’re within earshot of the computer. Unless you’re waiting on a specific email to arrive, close your email program and open it only one or two times a day. The USPS only delivers mail to your home once a day, right? So why must you be able to receive email every waking minute of the day? Since when is “just because you can” reason to do something, particularly when it can be such an interruption and fritter away your time without you really noticing?

Let Those Calls Go to Voice Mail

Why is the urge to answer a ringing phone so overwhelming? Maybe for the same reason we say “dial” when few, if any, of us have a telephone with a dial: habit. Combined with Caller ID, voice mail is a powerful, yet grossly underused, tool for reducing interruptions and taking charge of your time.

Yes, I hear those of you who say, “What if it is an emergency?” First let me say I am not suggesting that you let ALL calls go to voice mail, just calls that come in while you are engaged in getting something important done! Having said that, I realize emergencies rarely happen at a convenient time, so create a plan for reaching you with said emergencies. For example, I have “trained” my children to call my cell phone instead of the house phone if there is an emergency. They know they are ONLY allowed to call my cell phone in two situations: when they KNOW I am not home or in an emergency. In effect, my cell phone serves as the “hot line” that is always answered. This, coupled with the fact that I do not make public my cell phone number, allows me to let my calls on the other phones go to voice mail without worry.

Categorize and Prioritize Your To-Do List

For most of us, simply creating a to-do list is not enough. Ticking off items on an arbitrary to-do list might help you get more done each day by helping you stay “on task”, but the real question is are you getting the “right” things done each day to create the life you want to live?

Take the time to create a to-do list, yes, but then take it one step further: categorize and prioritize that list! Identify those items that are goal-related - those are important! From this list of goal-related items, create your “Must-Do” list for the day. Do these things; THEN do the rest of the things on your to-do list. This way, at the end of each day, you’ll be that much closer to achieving the goals you’ve set for yourself because they have been the focus and direction of your day.

Let me also suggest that you close the email program and let those calls go to voice mail while you create these lists each day. Without interruptions, you’ll need less time to get more done. Planned and enforced distraction-free periods of your day to plan and work will accelerate the speed at which you achieve more, leaving more time for play.

Do you think Jullius Caesar worried Marcus Brutus kept a task list? Perhaps he should have!

So how do you manage your task list? WHAT … you don’t have one? Better start one today! One of the biggest challenges we have in our fast paced world is we are bombarded with information. So much so, it makes it increasingly difficult to remember everything we need to. How much could a missed commitment to a valued client cost you?

A task list will make you much more productive! Guaranteed.

To do lists, or task lists are not only for your business tasks but personal tasks as well. It doesn’t matter what system you use, be it paper or one of many excellent software programs on the market today, as long as you use it. I find Microsoft Outlook works well for me; I print a hard copy of my day’s appointments and tasks. With this list at my ready reference I can add and update my list with ease. It only takes me a few minutes at the end of the day to update my electronic version.

Task lists work like this. If your brain knows that you are recording tasks that need to be done, subconsciously it relaxes. It doesn’t attempt to keep looping the task around which adds to your stress as you tend to react is some way each time you “remember”.

Task lists make you productive in another way as well. Pick your favourite colour … go out and buy that colour highlighter. When you complete a task, stroke it out with the highlighter. Your brain will begin to associate the colour with success. Within 30 days you will look forward to completing the tasks and the colour reward you see. You’ll become more organized and actually look forward to adding more tasks to your list with the extra time you have freed up. As productivity increases so will your personal success - guaranteed!

As I said to Brutus the other day, et tu Brutus? He replied, “You bet, I wouldn’t be caught dead without my task list!”

Time management is the process of working to succeed. When we are working to succeed, we are reaching our goals. Sometimes it is difficult when time are constantly changing and problems get in our way, so it is important to decide which plan works for you as well as understanding that life has its ups and downs. When we are planning to reach goals, we have sit down and really ponder on what is needed to reach this goal or set of goals. Some of us prefer to set short-term goals, reach that goal, and then go for a long-term goal. Most of us prefer to set short and long-term goals in the same time management scheme in an effort to reach both goals accordingly. This is always wise, since you do not want to start over with another time management scheme once you reach your short-term goal. One of the best tools provided to me in time management or rather business planning, was role-playing. When we are setting goals for our self and searching for a solution to make the goal work, it often helps to play out the parts as you come to a decision. If you see this works, then it is obviously part of the solution required to reach your goals. However, if you see that there are issues, then you need to re-evaluate to find a solution that is more fitting. Time management is essential, since it demands the person (s) to plan, act on those plans, and stay focused on those goals with motivation in play. You must also keep reality in view, since if you neglect the realness of the world, you will not be prepared when things go wrong.

Disasters such as storms, computer failures, family illness, personal sickness, and so on can happen any time. There is no sense in believing that you are absent from reality. It is always wise to include elements of your time management scheme in accordance with disaster, by thinking critical on the different issues that may arise. For example, if you plan a solution ahead of a computer failure, you will have the tools to continue working while your issue is addressed. Time solution is more than just planning then, it is a solution for planning here, now, and then. When you begin your planning, you should start by analyzing now. Now is in the present and you can see the elements that are needed to achieve your goals? If you know you need a computer to start a business in the next five-years, you should begin setting up a budget for the computer in demand. It is always wise when setting up budgets to open savings or money market accounts that does not take money from you, rather increases your savings by offering a nice interest on your savings. This can help you to reach the goal sooner. Computers are relatively cheaper nowadays, so you will not have to put much focus on this area, unless you intend to purchase a mainframe coupled with another system. Mainframes are expensive pieces of equipment. Next, you can search to find out more information about what is needed to start up a new business. It depends on the type of business you are achieving to reach, but most require desks, computers, pens, paper, cabinets, chairs, and so on. Be sure you add these expenses to your budgeting account. You may also want to include other essentials for starting a business, such as insurance policies, health insurance, and disaster recovery coverage and so on. Open separate accounts for your current financial obligations so that your savings will accumulate and your savings will not be affected. Try to avoid purchasing something that is not needed throughout the course of your time management planning, since this can only delay your progress. If you intend to open a business in five or ten years, make sure you keep this in sight while you work to the main goal laid out in your time management scheme. Time management is working to succeed. If you want to succeed then you must work hard every day to meet your goals.

Are you maximizing your strengths and promoting your talents at work? If you have sharp analytical skills, have you sought to apply those skills to your current job? I know it sounds crazy to ask for more work when you are already overloaded, but any assistance that you can provide now will ultimately help you advance in your present position or in a future one.

You have gifts and talents to offer the world. Your current or potential employer desperately needs to use your talents NOW, especially since they are focused on increasing revenue.

Just what ARE your talents and how can you apply them to your career?

1. Discover Your Hidden Talents

a. What are your strengths and weaknesses?

b. How can you capitalize on your strengths and improve your weaknesses?

c. Can you enhance your strengths and dissipate your weaknesses by learning on-the-job or by taking additional classes or training?

2. Promote Your Talents Within

a. Once you have an analysis of the talents you have to offer, start promoting them. If you don’t tout them, then no one will.

b. Talk with your boss about helping out the team. Your pathway to the top is by being someone who can be counted on.

3. Take Action

a. After you tell your employer about your hidden talents and your ideas for using them, you must live by your words. Remember your integrity is at stake and that means something.

b. Using your talents is not a one-day project; it is a way to live and work more effectively every day. So go out there, and put your talent to work!

It may be hard to focus on your talents when the world around you is so uncertain. Put your worries behind you, and your best foot forward. You can be proud of your effort no matter what the future may bring, because you swung out and gave it your best shot.

Organizing the content of your life based on your needs is a best practice for managing your time, resources and money and is an essential first step if you are to fully achieve your potential in life. The reasons for this are simple. An organized clear mind leads to clear and objective goals, which in turn leads to you being able to achieve what you set out to do.

A critical first step then in staying organized is to set up a system of resource planning and clerical needs that allows you to plan out your time effectively, and allocate where you are going to spend it. In short this means such steps as getting a day planner so that you can plan ahead. Getting appropriate stationary systems and office space in place, and also getting yourself a filing cabinet, or at the very least some kind of filing system!

It would certainly be true to say that staying organized then is not something that lots of people do naturally! At first it can even seem slightly stifling, especially if you are used to totally going with the flow of what each day brings. In truth this is ok. It IS good to be spontaneous on occasions, but in general it is vital to plan out what you need to do in a particular time frame, because otherwise it is all to easy to simply become distracted! (For help with Goal Setting you can visit .goalsettingnews.com)

All of us know this to be true if we think about it from the viewpoint of our own lives. For example, when we surf the web we find ourselves flitting between sites, and before you know it a couple of hours have past! Now, don’t get me wrong. That is one of the joys of the internet, and of life in General. But it is

nevertheless a time stealer that staying focused and staying organised could have helped to negate.

So then am I saying that Staying Organized should mean robbing you of the juice of life? Robbing you of the spontaneity? NO! No! NO! For me the exact opposite is true. Staying organized is about finishing the day’s tasks and having crammed far more good stuff in! In short it is the exact opposite of a spoil sport!

You should know your own strengths and weaknesses when it comes to this area (clue… Staying organized means doing more of the things you like!) and communicate them to yourself regularly to analyze that your wants and needs are being met effectively. Then organize your time based on that feedback.

Keep with the program. Stay Organized, and Organize YOUR Life For Success!

According to Work Life Today, flexibility and overwork are two of the major workforce issues of 2006. With over 33 percent of employees feeling overworked, employees need to find ways to ease the burden on their workers without allowing the costs to skyrocket.

Adding work to already overloaded employees is expected to worsen, since it is expected that the workforce is likely to decrease. The added burden of work on employees can cause problems in the balance of life and work for staff members, as they feel more overloaded with work. Also, with the new trends of employees paying for health insurance and having to dress more formally becoming more prominent, employers will have to find other ways to address the issue of balancing work and life for staff members that shoulder the burden of extra work.

Knowing why employees feel overworked is the first step in finding inexpensive ways to address the issue. Many managers misunderstand what overwork means to their staff. Even though Expedia.com reports that 63 percent of workers work more than 40 hours per week, being overworked is not just about the number of hours the person spends at the office. Most often, employees feel overworked due to having too much work to do in a given day or having too many menial versus challenging tasks. The employee that feels overworked can be costly to an employer, because people who are overworked tend to make more mistakes and harbor anger and resentment toward management and co-workers. People who feel overworked can sometimes lose track of important tasks, which then mean missed deadlines and lost clients.

Many of the issues associated with overwork come from finding a way to balance the burden of work with the things people need for everyday living. Today managers are being viewed as the gatekeepers to work/life balance, since many people continue to feel overwhelmed by the load of work in both their professional and personal lives. With over 26 percent of employees refraining from taking vacation or sick days because they worry about the amount of work that will be piled in their inboxes when they return, it is no longer just about the benefits like insurance or vacation time that appeal to the employee. Potential new hires and current employees want to know that the company cares about them as people, not as a worker-bee. This means that employers need to be more creative in how they approach the feeling of overwork so that employees are more productive and satisfied in both their professional and personal lives.

So what are some ways that employers can fulfill this new role of Gatekeeper? While some companies are offering incentives for people to take vacations, many companies are turning to trainings and personal concierge services to assist their employees to feel less overworked. For instance, one company decided that they wanted staff members to begin dressing more professionally. So they offered people trainings on how to put together professional outfits. Another company offered a company that would assist people in shopping for professional clothing. Trainings can also help people learn how to manage their time better, how to use a wardrobe for success, and even how to succeed in upward mobility.

However, the most recent, and low-cost, trend has companies using a corporate concierge service that will take care of the little things so that the employees focus will be on the big things. For some people, taking care of the grocery shopping, clothing purchases, birthday presents, and more can allow their focus to be directed at work. People have found that they can focus more on their work when someone else is taking care of picking up the dry cleaning or getting their oil changed.

According to BusinessKnowHow.com, overwork is one of the top reasons why many people get frustrated and leave their jobs. Whether you are looking to retain the employees you have or you are looking to attract quality new hires, one of the issues you will need to address is overwork. When employees see that you are trying to meet their needs and make their overall lives better, you will find that production will increase and an overall sense of well being will fill your office. Using trainings, incentives, and personal concierge services can bring about the best in your staff without costing you a fortune.

Complimentary English lesson of the day! What is an oxymoron?

oxymoron- as defined at dictionary.com. Noun : conjoining contradictory terms (as in “deafening silence”)

Can silence be deafening??? Can time be managed???

I can’t think of a program that I have ever done that didn’t include the oxymoron “time management” as a common problem identified by the participants attending. Since most of my work is with sales people or sales managers I thought I might take a moment and address the issue of time management as it relates specifically to those functions. There are many strategies we can use to get control of the time we have, here are a couple of ideas that might help you.

First, let’s define the problem and identify that “time management” is really a symptom of the inability to manage and set priorities. No one yet (to my knowledge, call me if you know the secret!) has found a way to manage time. We cannot control the hands on the clock or when the sun rises and sets. We can only manage and control what we do with our time. So, the real issue is not managing time but managing what we do with the time we have, making sure that we spend it on the most important priorities.

Second, you must understand and be willing to accept the fact that there will never be a day when you get everything done (except of course the day you die!). Until you are willing to accept that reality that you will be constantly frustrated by your inability to get everything done. More important, however, is that thinking you can get everything done will cause you to make promises of delivery (goods, services, favors or other deliverables) that are unrealistic. Let’s make sure we are thinking correctly about the problem or we’re doomed to repeat it.

If you understand that you can’t get everything done, then you must decide what needs to get done and what can be put off (for later, or forever!). Everyday you need to make a list of what needs to get done and then take a minute and prioritize your list. For many sales people a good way to prioritize is getting into the habit of identifying and doing things that have the “highest likelihood of making you money or losing you money”. These tasks are often referred to as “money tasks”, and are often the most stressful tasks on the list (see post “clean out your locker”, 9/24). Particularly, if you are a commissioned based sales person, this will have a great impact on your earning potential and keep you focused on the right tasks. I’m confident that using the “money call” rule will make you more money, try it!

In the following months we’ll add some other priority management techniques that will help you get better control of your time. For now, set your priorities on doing the things that affect your “pocket book” and I’ll bet you’ll feel better about how you use your time!

How many times have you thought or said, “Sure, I’d like to (take a course, take a vacation, work on an additional skill or project, etc) but there just isn’t enough time.” When we say, “There just isn’t enough time,” we’re shirking responsibility.

Let’s look at time and I’ll show you what I mean.

Time is a unique resource. It cannot be saved, stopped, or replaced. It’s interesting, then, that some people seem to “find time” to get things accomplished that others don’t. Some people seem to be able to “manage time” better than others and are thus able to “better use time.”

The fact is, these resourceful people cannot “find time” or “manage time” any more than the rest of us. Time cannot be “managed” or “found”. We all have the same amount of time in a day, a week, a month, and a year.

Everyone has:

24 hours in a day

168 hours in a week

8,736 hours in a year

613,200 hours in a lifetime (assuming a life span of 70 years)

306,600 hours left (assuming you’re now 35 years old)

How many hours do you have left in your life? Take a minute to calculate the time and write your answer in the margin. Compare the accomplishments you’ve achieved in the time you’ve already lived with the goals you want to achieve in the time you have left. Are you pleased with where you’re at and where you’re headed?

Ask yourself how you can use the remaining time to accomplish job, career, and personal goals that are meaningful for you. Ask yourself, “What is the one thing I can do TODAY that &ndash if I did superbly &ndash would have significant positive results in my department, career, or personal life?”

Managing time isn’t about time at all; it’s about priorities. It’s about achievements that &ndash at the end of the day &ndash are most important to you. It’s about setting achievable goals and using a planful method for achieving those goals amidst the many forces vying for your time every day.

Align Your Goals With Outside Forces

Have you ever started a diet around the holidays? Unless you opted to go to a health camp for the holidays, you probably succumbed to the many temptations of tasty, not-very-healthy food found during these times. The fact that no one else seemed to be dieting didn’t help either! In short, your goal of losing weight wasn’t aligned with the realities of the season.

The same is true of goals. Goals are easier to achieve if they are aligned with outside forces. As an example, if your professional goal is to achieve a lateral promotion to another part of the United States and the company’s goal is to reduce all transfers, your goal is not aligned with outside forces and you will have a challenge meeting your goal.

If your goals ARE NOT aligned with company goals, you may be seen as a malcontent &ndash a troublemaker. If your goals ARE aligned with company goals, you are seen as supporting the company and your team is seen as a major contributing force in the organization.

Ask yourself, “Will the achievement of my goals help the company achieve its goals?” If your goals MIGHT NOT align with the company’s goals, you may wish to revisit your goal (or consider finding another company to work for!).

Anchor Your Goals With Inside Forces

It’s also important that your goals are anchored to your inner forces or values. If you don’t value the achievement of your goal, or the achievement of your goal goes against your values and principles, your goal will be difficult to achieve.

Ask yourself, “Will the achievement of this goal reinforce who I am as a team member, leader, or person?” If your goal MIGHT NOT reinforce who you are, you may want to revise your goal.

Link Your Goals With Other(s’) Goals

Finally, achieving a goal is easier if it is linked to another goal that you have or to another person’s goal. You may find that several of your goals may link together nicely; by working on one, you can easily work on several. Even more powerful is linking your goal to another person’s or department’s goal.

Ask yourself, “Who else might benefit from the achievement of this goal?” Discuss your goal with this person to see if there’s a possibility of working on mutually beneficial goals.

By aligning, anchoring, and linking our goals, they become easier to achieve.

NOTE: Once you have identified your goals, you will want to record them in a conspicuous place &ndash one where you can see the goals on a daily basis.

Long-term Success Happens a Week at a Time

When you go on a diet, are you “good” every single day? If you blow your diet by going out one night, do you give up on your goal? The answer (hopefully) is “no.” Likewise, if your goal is to get promoted within a year and you haven’t done anything about it today, do you give up on your goal? The answer is “no.” Most people focus too much on the long-term goal OR on the day-to-day task. The truth is that you must look past the day-to-day and before the long-term goal to your intermediate goal.

Think about how you walk. Try walking by looking down at each step you take. You may not ever stumble, but you will certainly lose track of where you’re headed. Now, try to walk by looking at your destination (say a building a mile away); you MAY reach your goal if you don’t fall down the steps or get run over by a truck as you cross the street! To walk effectively, you must look forward &ndash not a mile forward, but several steps ahead.

To effectively achieve your long-term goals, you must first break them down into intermediate goals, goals that can be reasonably achieved in a week (or for longer-term goals, in a month).

You will want to keep track of these intermediate goals on a monthly calendar. NOTE: You will also want to keep track of appointments, meetings, and other business action items on this monthly calendar as well; this will enable you to quickly see how packed or free any specific week will be.

Daily Planning

Having long-term and intermediate goals are the first two steps to “managing time.” The third step is to ACT! As the saying goes, “The longest journey begins with the first step.”

Many people &ndash all with good intentions &ndash ignore the realities of the day when they first start integrating their intermediate goals in their daily regimen. They forget that they have meetings they’re supposed to attend, job commitments they’re expected to fulfill, and other things that will tug and pull at their available time. As a result, they become frustrated with their lack of progress on their goals and become angry with the things &ndash work and family obligations &ndash that are taking all their time.

Take a few minutes each morning to plan your day:

Step 1: Identify your appointments, meetings, and other business action items.

Your first step in planning your day is to transfer appointments and other business action items from the monthly calendar. These are non-discretionary: you’ve already made commitments to them. Take time now to transfer any appointments and business action items from your monthly calendar onto your daily calendar in their appropriate places.

Step 2: Plan your daily duties.

Your second step is to plan your daily duties such as phone calls, mail, inbox items, etc. These are activities that are less defined that action items but still require a portion of your day. By planning these duties, you allot time for them without letting them drive your entire day.

Step 3: Make appointments with yourself.

Your third step is to “make appointments with yourself” by identifying which intermediate steps you wish to tackle today. Transfer these discretionary activities (intermediate steps) from your Goal Planning page. This makes discretionary items non-discretionary by the simple act of recording the item in the daily plan. You move the future into the present so you can act upon it now!

Here are some tips to help you “manage time” and achieve long-term success:

• Limit the number of activities you plan for a day. Commit to &ndash and complete &ndash a few activities rather than overcommitting.

• Make a habit of planning for 15 minutes every day.

• Do your priority first. Period. Include a quiet time to accomplish your

top priority.

• Take a long-range view of your commitments. Does your calendar fill up quickly? Should it? Space your non-discretionary time carefully week to week.

• Take a medium-range view when planning time for your intermediate steps. “What is the one thing that I know if I did superbly THIS WEEK would have significant positive results in my department, career, and/or personal life?”

• Use your time management system to keep important information such as your department, career, and personal goals and intermediate steps; your appointments, business action items, and other commitments; and your contacts.

Entelechy’s Time Mastery Tip

“What is the one thing I can do TODAY that &ndash if I did superbly &ndash would have significant positive results in my department, career, or personal life?”

Terence R. Traut is the president of Entelechy, Inc., a company that helps organizations unlock the potential of their people through customized training programs in the areas of sales, management, customer service, and training. Terence can be reached at 603-424-1237 or ttrautunlockit.com. Check out Entelechy’s website at .unlockit.com.

When I was small, I have never considered the importance of time. I would just laze around, watch TV, lie in bed, and play video games. As I grew older, I thought about the things that I have achieved. To my surprise, I haven’t accomplished a lot.

I resolved to myself that I will do things that will contribute to the benefit of mankind. I studied very hard and learned a lot of lessons from my experience. I lack self-confidence before, so I want to help other people overcome this predicament. I want to help anyone in need because it feels so good to solve other people’s problems.

I urge you now to make the most use of your time. It may be joining a fundraising organization. You may also learn new skills or crafts. Create a goal and go for it!

Don’t be a couch potato. Don’t just sit around and be contented with the monotonous patterns of your daily activities.

Do something nice and give all your best to the fulfillment of a worthwhile endeavor. It will give you a very deep sense of happiness and satisfaction.

Some people complain that they don’t have enough time to take action on their goals. They have to go to their 9 to 5 job, then when they go home they feel so tired all they can think about is watch TV, relax, and sleep.

I’m not saying that leisure is a no-no. In fact, everyone should take time out once in a while to recharge and revitalize their energy. The key is to have a balanced life. Set aside a fraction of your time to carry out your dreams and ambitions. Reserve some time to establish healthy relationships.

Ok, I hear you. You’re saying that you really just can’t budget your time?

Don’t panic. Here are some time management tips.

1) If possible, do more than one thing at the same time.

Exercise while watching your favorite TV show. Listen to educational tapes while waiting for the bus.

Be forewarned! Never do this if it puts you at risk or in danger; for example, don’t text while driving.

2) Don’t do something later if it can be done concurrently with an activity at present.

If you’re going to the market to buy some eggs, think of the other things that you have to purchase so that you don’t have to return again.

If you have an appointment with the dentist today and you also have to go to the bank (which is near the dentist’s clinic) at any day, schedule the two activities on the same day.

3) Be organized in everything that you do.

Put labels on bottles. Put similar files on one folder. Make a list of things you have to do for the day.

You can also use your mind to organize things you have to remember. Studies have shown that you could only retain information that fit between 5 to 9 categories at a time. This is the 7+-2 rule of Neurolinguistic Programming.

If you have many things to do, try to group related things together. You can combine activities such as reading books, listening to educational tapes, and watching training videos into a category such as “Education.” Then you can group swimming, playing basketball, and paying fees for the gym in a category called “Fitness.” Get the picture?

Time is one of our most valuable resources. Once lost, it can never be reclaimed. We must use time wisely for our development and advancement; so that when we are old, we can look back and recollect the pleasant memories and deeds that we have achieved. Time well spent is worth much more than gold.

To learn more on time management, go to .MillionaireMindTeam.com/timemanagement/

Stephan Bourget, consultant

Millionaire Mind Team

.MillionaireMindTeam.com

I can’t help feeling that using the phrase ‘work/life balance’ reinforces the problem it seeks to address. To describe a need to balance work and life implies that work is not part of ‘life’. If that’s the case then approx 50% of the average persons hours on earth are devoted to non-life &ndash surely that’s dead.

People are not asking ‘how can I balance two opposing areas of existence?’, but ‘how can I live a holistic life; where all aspects of life co-exist and compliment each other and do not oppose each other?’ Balancing things puts them in opposing positions &ndash we reinforce a problem as oppose to deal with it. We need integration not balance.

If you are living a non-integrated life then perhaps you need to make some major changes. Some escape home by going to work and others escape work by going home. Some people feel like two different people. The person at work is not the person at home. If that’s the case, both your team and family are missing out. For some this is so extreme they keep the two parties at arms length. They feel that if the two meet there will be some kind of implosion of realities and life will end. Actually &ndash it’s at that point that life begins.

I believe it is my reasonability as a leader and employer to care for my team. Yes, we have goals, vision, dreams and commitments &ndash but they are meaningless if we destroy lives, demoralize people and deny children their parents input.

Leaders lead people not projects. If we do not care for our people they will not stay around.

Southwest Airlines (the most successful airline in the world!) has some ways they help people live integrated lives. How do they do this? Their office corridors are lined with photos of team members’ families, wedding photos &ndash they even have an area devoted to pets. Their people don’t leave. They are committed to the business because the business is committed to them

I suggest that we need to focus on integrating all aspects of life and not attempt to balance them out. People will happily work overtime to meet a deadline when they know there is a commitment to them as a person coming back.

For more infomation go to the Generous Leadership website - generousleadership.com