Living a Happier, Healthier, More Stress-Free Life!

By Peggy Duncan

Peggy Duncan is a personal productivity expert. This article is the framework of her book, Put Time Management to Work and Live the Life You Want.

Every time I hear of a company having massive layoffs, I feel for the people who are losing their jobs, but I immediately start thinking about the people who will be left behind. They now have to figure out how to get their work done plus work their former co-workers used to do. Ironically, while downsizing and layoffs are on the rise, workers are demanding more work-life balance than ever before.

Work-life balance does not mean spending equal time in the four quadrants of life (Self, Family, Work, and Friends and Community). It’s about spending your ideal time in the four quadrants to the point that you’re satisfied and happy. That ideal time varies for different people, and is based on what’s going on in their lives at any given time. If you’re a newly wed, you’ll want more family time than someone who is single and starting a first job. Learning a new software program for a job promotion might be more satisfying to you than socializing. If you're retired, you may want to spend more time doing volunteer work in the community. I think you get my point.

To help employees achieve more balance, companies have begun developing programs such as flex time, work-from-home, and so on. However, it’s going to take so much more than that. Regardless of the hours you work or from where, you’ll still have to figure out how to get the same work done.

How can busy, overworked people achieve work-life balance when circumstances require them to do more, faster and with less help? And how do small business owners achieve it? They have to wear many hats, often doing the work of several people. How can they grow a business and still have time for a life?

The way you begin to solve any challenge, is to get in front of it so you can see what’s really going on. Step out of the chaos and peel the layers of the issue back until you get to the core of the problem.

"The biggest time management mistake you make
is not realizing how much time you waste."

To achieve work-life balance, you can not waste time. Determining what you want in life and developing the most efficient way to get things done is your answer—at work and at home. And knowing what's most important will make you more effective.

If you can figure out ways to spend less time working, you’ll have more time to spend on other important aspects of your life.  You have to work smarter. This requires getting organized so you can think more clearly; having clear goals so you can stay focused on the right things; streamlining processes to eliminate useless work; and using technology the right way so you can finish everything quicker. You’ll have to do the same thing at home.

• Get organized. Eliminating clutter and the chaos it causes will give you a gift of one to two hours  a day. You’ll be able to find exactly what you need when you need it, you’ll procrastinate less, and you’ll be able to think so much more clearly. And when you start thinking, all kinds of amazing things will start to happen.

• Set goals and priorities. If you don’t have realistic goals set, you won’t know what’s important and what you should spend your time doing.

• Streamline the process. You should examine every step of how you work and figure out a better way. Are you taking two days to do something that could be done in an hour? Can technology help you do manual work faster than you can blink? Have you asked yourself why the work needs to be done in the first place? And if it does, why are you doing it a certain way?

• Use the right technology. It’s not enough to invest in technology: you have to learn how to really use it. With proper training, you’ll be able to finish work six times quicker. You’ll also make fewer mistakes when you learn how to do the work the right way, and you’ll have higher self-esteem.

You're going to have to give up a couple or more weekends to get this done. But unlike dieting or exercising, the results are immediate. Turn off the TV, get some big garbage bags,  clear the calendar,  close the door, and get started toward carving out more time for the life you want!

What do you want to have more time to do? Reward yourself with that when you're done...on your way to your computer class!
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