The report, Women at Midlife and Beyond: A Glimpse into The Future, put out by the center for work and family at Boston College recently updated.  A couple of findings from the study were that concerns or stress regarding family and home negatively affect between one-fourth and one-half of employees.  Three-quarters of women age 35 and older reported that work was a means of making a living but less than one-fourth of those viewed work as providing them with personal fulfillment.
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David Zinczenko, Editor in Chief of Men’s Health magazine, has some interesting thoughts on this very question in an article titled “Why Do Men Spend So Much Time At Their Jobs”.

In a nutshell, Mr. Zinczenko explains in a different and more lighthearted way what I’ve written about in my article: Work-Life Balance for Men.

Here’s an excerpt from my article: Read Post

The same study mentioned yesterday also revealed that father’s have just about tripled the time they spend with their children.  It’s went from 2.5 hours a week in 1965 to 7 hours today.  It was commented in the washingtonpost.com by William Dohetry that “it’s not the case that men are slugs.”  The study also revealed that men today do about 9.6 hours of housework compared to 4.4 hours back in 1965. It was also revealed that the feelings of guilt mothers feel are also shared by fathers.  About half the fathers felt they had too little time with their kids. Read Post

Suzanne M. Bianchi conducted a study that revealed mother’s of today spend more hours focused on their children than mothers of 40 years ago.  The mother’s of today that were interviewed didn’t perceive things that way.  In fact these mothers felt that they didn’t have enough time with their children. I’d offer that these feelings occur because people have bought into the myth that you can have it all and do it all.  You need to remind yourself that you can’t do it all and build a lifestyle for yourself that is balanced between work, family, community and yourself.
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The Winter 2007 edition of Business Week magazine’s Small Business edition features women who have fled flourishing corporate careers to pursue opportunities as entrepreneurs.

This Time It’s Mine: Why high-powered women are leaving Corporate America to become entrepreneurs profiles 18 corporate women and draws a picture for us of them “then and now.”

The article points out that these women are part of a growing trend of female executives leaving top management positions in corporate America in an effort to better use their skills and to run things their own way.

The 18 entrepreneurs share the positives and negatives of their career changes and some of their struggles. All of the women entrepreneurs, however, report that they are pleased with their choices and would do it all over again.

To read the article online, click here.

I participated in an event that allowed me to meet husbands and wives at the event together.  There was a common theme that seemed to take place here - most partners weren’t satisfied with the balance they were experience in their lives and communication seemed to be pretty broken down between couples. Legitimate distractions were in fact causing many of them to avoid communication all together. Work and children can be two of the biggest legitimate distractions. To help achieve balance in these couples lives there are three tips that can be done - integrate yourself back into your home, accept yourself as you are today and be your genuine self.
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Would you like to make use of technology to help you in your business
rather than becoming a slave to being instantly and constantly
available?

Sick of having a cell phone or two, a business phone, and a home phone with separate voice mail boxes?

Try GrandCentral. It links all your phones together, allows you to check voice mail from
any of your phones or your computer, and many other things.

I am in no way affiliated with GrandCentral and receive no benefits from your interest in the service.

Achieving balance means taking action. Put into place, every day, some simple habits and routines that will help you achieve the goals you’ve prioritized.
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Sometimes we need a reminder to slow down and take a break from multitasking.  Margaret Heffernan at FastCompany.com gave me that reminder.  She has a 30 minute time frame on her calendar for every Monday, Wednesday & Friday for her thinking time.  Allow yourself some breathing room and thinking time.  Schedule it and don’t move it or let it be rescheduled!
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Harvard business review ran a report titled Extreme Jobs: The Dangerous Allure of the 70-Hour Workeweek.  The study talks about the ‘extreme’ worker and five categories of pressure relating to job performance.  On the other end of the spectrum entrepreneurs and business owners find themselves in their own ‘extreme’ life. Both extremes must find a way to balance their work and life.
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