The Daily Saint

New Definitions of Work-Life Balance?

Photo by Gilest

I love the concept of work-life balance.  Putting it into practice, now that's where things get difficult. 

Difficult, but not impossible.  Julie Mortgenstern, who writes alongside David Allen at Business Week offers this as fresh insight:

"Work-life balance is not about the amount of time you spend working vs. not-working. It’s more about how you spend your time working and relaxing, recognizing that what you do in one fuels your energy for the other."

What she's really saying is what Pope Paul VI called for in the late 1960's.  He coined the phrase, "unity of life" and he meant to encourage folks to see their work and personal values as integrated one with the other. 

One of the tragedies of the entire Bill Clinton scandal was not so much what he did (although hardly commendable).  Rather, it was the paradigm that he promoted: private life and public life as separate entities.  I have heard many of my students over the years buy into this gospel- i.e. "what I do in my own time is my business and not yours!"  Both true and false.

So, what is work-life balance?  Simply put, work-life balance is the art of maintaining the integrity of both your labor and your love.  Someone once said that a job is what you're paid for and a vocation is what you're made for.  Now that's work-life balance.

Podcast #3: An Inside Look at my Projects List

Photo by Sleepy Terry

In this episode I take you behind the scenes to my weekly project list.  This will help you see what an average week throws at me and two simple ways to stay on top of it.

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Quiet Moments that Boost Productivity

This morning I chose to arrive 15 minutes later to work.  Not late just later.  In that same block of time, I sat quietly and read an article that I've been putting off for a while.  A great use of a quarter hour.

Where in your schedule are 15 quiet moments?

I like to think that there is a bit of monk in all of us.  The BBC series, Finding Sanctuary was so popular because of this. When I take students away from the noise and hustle of the world, they too find that quiet moments actually boost their overall well-being when they return to the "real world".

Some suggestions from Finding Sanctuary:

1. Find a quiet place free from distraction
2. Sit with your limbs uncrossed and with a straight back, hands in your lap
3. Simply breathe at regular speed but breathe deeply and relax
4. Close your eyes and think of a beautiful scene from the natural world
5. Take a simple phrase and repeat it continuously in time with your breathing

Five Meditation Phrases from the Christian Tradition:

• Come and illumine my darkness
• Be still and know that I am God
• God be in my head and in my understanding
• Come Holy Spirit and inflame my heart
• Come Lord Jesus

Podcast #2: Mini Review of Laura Stack's The Exhaustion Cure

Be sure to check out my second podcast which features a mini-review of Laura Stack's brand new book The Exhaustion Cure: Up Your Energy from Low to Go in 21 Days.

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The Greatest Project...Ever

I know that strategic planning produces  tangible results but I may have discovered something better.  No, it's not a staff retreat nor is it a new coffee machine in the faculty work-room. 

I put up a tree swing in my backyard.

Who would have know that such a simple project would produce such amazing satisfaction?  Had I known, I would have put one up years ago.  Remembering that a project is defined as "anything you'd like to or need to get done which requires multiple steps", I set out to give my family hours of joy. 

Tree?  Check.

Rope? Check.

Ability to tie a knot?  Check the Internet.  Kind of important.

In less than one hour, I had gone to the hardware store, purchased my gear and I was good to go.  The result: my backyard is transformed into a play-zone. 

Application
What project are you working on that is really worth the effort?  Which one will produce results that will completely transform your workplace?  Which project can you get rid of because it is a waste of time?

How Do You Organize Your Inspiration?

Photo by Muffet

Today's post is from a handout from a talk that I gave this past weekend called, "Developing a Keynote Address: How to Organize Your Inspiration".

"Peace is the tranquility of order." St. Augustine

Capturing Your Ideas
Have a notebook handy wherever you are.  This can be as simple as a magnetic pad on your fridge (to recall what you need as your kitchen gets empty) to a 50cent notepad for your coat pocket.  You never know when a great idea will strike and give up on the idea of “remembering it later”. Get ideas out of your head- if you don't they'll come back and you'll wonder why you haven't done anything with them.  As David Allen says, "Your head's for having ideas, not for holding them."  If you think it, ink it.

Keeping Your Ideas
Maintaining lists of anything that you want to reference later is a sign of an active mind.  Here is where you've taken your seemingly random "capture anytime" ideas and put them into a system of lists.  Lists might include:

• Great Saint quotes
• Talks I'd like to give
• Questions I'd like to ask the Pope
• Pilgrimage locations I'd like to visit
• Books I'd like to read
• Next time at Home Depot
• Places to visit in San Diego
• Coffee flavors to avoid
• Blog post ideas
• Blood pressure readings

Activating Your Ideas
When you can take your ideas and put them into motion you are making progress.  This might be an idea that you captured on the back of a knapkin or something more formally on a list. This of course does not happen all at once.  It takes practice to move from idea to action.  How do you do it?  By visiting your lists on a regular basis and sitting with them, you can make tremendous progress in life.  When it comes to giving a talk, getting from list to presentation is an art-form.  Gather your ideas, write down some thoughts, then let your outline percolate for a few days. Revisit it and then put on your next addition.  A great talk will look like a home that has had a competent architect working behind the scenes: it looks and feels right, accomplishing everything that the home owner had in mind.  Others will feel at home with your message- now that’s hospitality.

How to Break from a Monotonous Routine

Photo by Vu Bui

On most Tuesday mornings you'll find me at my local Dunkin Donuts and then in the office by 6:30am.  I skip my morning routine completely in favor of an adjusted route that gets me to work before anyone else. 

As I've noted before (Mini Routines Enhance Productivity & A Backup Plan for Your Morning Routine), morning routines are very important to getting the day started on the right foot.  I try to start my day at 5am every week day, getting to work by 7am and beating the rush of traffic and last minute driving delays. 

But once a week, I blow up my routine.

On Tuesdays, I skip all of the usual components of my morning routine, from prayer time to the Senseo coffee ritual.  Instead, I jump right into the shower and then head off for work.  I treat myself to a cup of coffee on the way and get to work while it's still dark.

For me, this once-a-week break in my routine works wonders.  First, it keeps my momentum from Monday moving in the right direction.  Second, I get to enjoy a great cup of coffee.  Third, I can enjoy some quality silence before everyone else gets to work. Fourth, I can tackle some difficult projects that need attention, before the cram and busyness of the day settles in.  Why not switch up your morning routine one day per week?

The Spiritual Twist
Trappist monks have often had the tradition of an extended walk, just to 'clean out the cobwebs'.  Even elderly monks will take part in a 6-7 mile hike.  Like a sports car that should be driven fast and hard every once in a while, even the monk knows that his body can benefit from some extended periods of exercise. 

Introducing 14 Surefire Stressbusters

Photo by Kortini

It's official- stress is increasing as fears of a recession are looming.  Whether it's the housing market, workplace insecurity or personal troubles, stress is here to stay.  I'd like to introduce a process that's sure to counter this trend.  It's called Surefire Stress Busters.

My friend Gene Monterastelli has developed this program and I'll be a contributing partner for the section on time management.  Surefire features a nice combination of audio segments, ebooks and traditional email information.  Best of all, it's free!

Sign up today by clicking here or by entering in your information in the widget "Free Stress Busting EClass" to the right.  Enjoy!

7 Good Reasons to Shorten Your Commute

Photo by Ben McLeod

There were times when I wished I had chosen Montana as home base.  Apparently folks there have the shortest commuting time in the entire United States.  On the other end of the spectrum, those in Maryland and New York spend over 100 hours a year in the car, heading to work.  If it weren't for a decision that my wife and I made this past summer, I'd still be spending huge chunks of time in my car, heading to and from work.

For us, it was a lifestyle decision.

We could have afforded a larger home about 45 minutes west of our home but opted instead for a small home that is only 6 miles from work.  While the process of downsizing has been an adjustment, there has not been a single day in which I wished I had a bigger commute.  I now spend 12 relaxing minutes driving to work, enjoying quiet back roads and listening to talk radio.  No traffic whatsoever.  This comes after nearly 10 years of heavy commuting. 

My lifestyle has benefited in so many ways which leads me to my top-7 reasons for chopping the commute into something more manageable.

1. Weather.  Snow, ice, accidents and everything in between haunt the long commuter. 
2. Gas prices. Prices in the Northeast hover near $3 and the West Coast is even worse.  When will the cost of filling up become a factor for decreasing commute time?
3. Traffic stress. Let's face it: driving can be stressful.  If it's not your own vehicle it might be someone else's.  Factor in poor drivers, potholes and traffic jams and the daily commute can become a nightmare.  I have friends who build their life around the traffic windows- practical but sobering.
4. Sickness. When I lived far from work and was slightly under the weather, I pulled the "I'm not coming in" trigger fast.  Why is this?  I believe that the thought of spending 30-45 minutes in the car only makes health worse.  This translates into more sick days used per year.
5. "Extra" work events. I work in a school which features plenty of night and weekend events.  Now that I live close to work, I can attend plenty of these "extra" events without feeling as if I'm wicked far from home.
6. Auto fatigue.  A long commute puts a lot of wear and tear on a car. 
7. More time with your family. There's a reason why this one is last- because family ought to come first.  If you added up the amount of time spent in the car for one year, then estimated what you could do with your loved ones during that same time, the family naturally comes out the winner.

Can't Miss Productivity Posts

Here are some posts that I found helpful from the past week:

Tim Ferris: Is Technology Failing to Simplify Life?

Four Hour Work Week Journal: My Daily Schedule

Brazen Careerist: Wardrobe Shifts Create Mental Shifts

Cranking Widgets: Describing Twitter in Plain English

LifeHack: Guy Kawasaki's Thoughts on Online Life

Unclutterer: Simple Living is Trendy

Pick the Brain: You Won't Get Anywhere with Poor Social Skills

The Zen of Tech: 12 Powerful Ways to Keep Your Online Life Simple and Peaceful