- 92% of studied respondents say they make or take work-related communications outside of the office, including during vacations.
- Nearly three-fourths say they stay 'switched on' during weekends.
- A fifth have interrupted a date for work reasons. (Lexmark International Study)
The common lament is that it is difficult to find a balance between work and personal lives. Work follows you home in the form of email, cell phones, and incomplete projects. You can often access your business computer from home, or work on your laptopand synchronize it the next day. People wonder what happened to "normal business hours"?
Despite complaints about lack of time due to excessive work, when people are asked if they would like time off or prefer to work more hours for additional money, the majority choose the opportunity to earn the money. If you took away all of the electronic devices now, many would feel that they have less control because the ability to keep in touch allows other liberties during the work day, when you can be away from the office and still handle requirements.
On the opposite side, there is no point pretending that all personal activities get done on "personal" time. After all, the biggest internet shopping day of the year is the Monday after the Thanksgiving weekend. Other non-business activities include social conversations with co-workers in both personal and electronic form, switching to personal email during the day, checking game scores or the news online, and phone calls to book appointments or check on children.
While it is true that the line between work and home has blurred, there is more to the issue of balancing work and personal spheres. If you truly focused only on work for eight hours and then switched to home activities, would you feel any less busy and stressed? Your outside activities--community, church, and social--often require as much effort as your business projects.
Our past societies did not have this distinguishing break between work and home. The concept actually developed in the 1950's and 1960's as, typically, Dad went to work and Mom handled the home chores. With the current dual-income family prototype, it is time to stop dreaming of a different era. Both Mom and Dad are working and therefore have to include business requirements and home chores each day.
The concept of working hours would be more accurately represented in today�s society as any time that you are not relaxing. You do not need an equal number of hours for each segment of your life, and some people require more �down� time while others are only comfortable when they feel they are keeping in touch.
Although everyone benefits from having time to escape, by yourself or with loved ones, you cannot dictate a formula. Even an extra thirty minutes or an hour each day can help to bring back that feeling of balance. The more accurate questions are to zero in on what causes you stress, and then prescribe a treatment.
- What relaxes you?
- What have you done for yourself today?
If you would like to jumpstart your organizing efforts and
add to your time management skills, we can help!
Corporate Training: workshops and consulting to
increase daily work flow and reduce stress
Individual Assistance: our onsite and virtual office
organizing to bring about changes quickly
On Your Own: books and CDs to work at your
own pace
