Work/Life Balance Tips to Keep You Sane

Effectively managing demands on your time, energy and resources is the key to finding happiness and taking charge of your life. This column offers you tips for merging your work life and your whole life in a way that keeps you sane.
How to let go of your work stress before you go home at the end of the dayr
Does this sound familiar? Work is nuts. You have a major project due, you are over budget, you have team members who may or may not be pulling their weight and all you know is that your next promotion is riding on the successful completion of this project. With the deadline looming you know you need to focus all of your time and attention on getting the work done.
It is 5 o’clock, you have to pick up your kids from day care in 30 minutes, your husband is out of town (or you are a single parent) and you have more work to do on the project when you get home. How do you keep your work stress from eroding away at the precious little time you have with your kids.
The most effective way to manage this work/life transition is to do something called segment intending. Originally conceived by Esther and Gerry Hicks, segment intending helps you focus on the task at hand while effectively putting other things on the shelf to be taken care of later. Give it a try.
About 15 minutes prior to the end of your work day, SET the intention to complete your day fully before you go home.
1) Make a list of all the things that you know need to get done the next time you work on the project. Take a deep belly breath and say to yourself “I am done this for now. I know what I need to do when I next work on this project”. Let it go.
2) On your commute home – Set the intention for how you want to be with your family when you get home. For example: I am present and really listen to my kids for 10 minutes when I get home. In that time, I will only focus on them and their needs.
3) Transitioning to home – Prior to walking in the door, take another deep belly breath. Turn off your smart phone for a specific period of time so your family knows they are your priority. Reconnect with your intention.
The key to this technique is to SET the intention for how you want the specific time segments to go. Give it a try.