Balancing Work and Life: How to Rise Before the Sun Does

I recently posted ten reasons to wake up early, but I thought it would also be helpful to share a few ideas on how to make this possible. Waking up early is important to achieving balance each day because it prepares you for the day ahead and allows you to do things you don’t usually have time for. While the benefits of waking up earlier may seem obvious, actually finding the motivation to stop snoozing each day may feel a little more daunting – but it doesn’t have to be. Here are six ideas Peter Shankman recently shared:

6) Water. Keep a glass of water next to your bed and drink the entire glass before your alarm shuts off. Water is a great wake-up call because it opens brain cells and rejuvenates you.

5) Get up—now! Move your alarm clock to somewhere you can’t reach so you have to get out of bed to turn it off. Some even recommend putting the kibosh on your alarmclock’s snooze feature. This and the water will help get you moving faster.

4) Get a pet. Feed a pet at 5 a.m. once, and he or she will make sure you’re up and at ‘em to eat!

3) Just do it. Don’t tell yourself you’re going to wake up early, actually do it! If you set your alarm at 5 a.m., wake up at 5 a.m. No snoozing until 6:30!

2) Leave your room. Once you’re done sleeping, it’s time to leave the bedroom. Go drink some coffee in the kitchen or check your email and read the paper in the living room.

1) Early to bed… Early to rise. Easiest way to get up earlier? Get to bed and get those eight hours! Yes, this might be a transition at first, but when you start to enjoy the things you’re able to accomplish in the morning, you’ll find all the motivation you need to get to bed earlier.

The best way to start a new routine is to just do it! Don’t wait until the first of next month or after a vacation. There are always a million reasons not to do something. Don’t make anymore excuses – try waking up early tomorrow morning and see how much you can accomplish before 7 a.m. Better balance is just an early morning away.

Balancing Work and Life: Rise and Shine

Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man (and woman!) healthy, wealthy and wise.  You’ve heard the saying – and let’s add “balanced” to that list of benefits. Personally, I’m a morning person – I find it the perfect time to meditate and exercise, preparing me for a calmer, more balanced day.

While I understand we’re not all morning people, there are many positives to waking up earlier, including improving your work-life balance. Why? Peter Shankman summed it up in a recent post called Why You NEED To Get Up Earlier (And How To Do It!). Here are Peter’s top 10 reasons to get up early every day – which I agree with 100 percent:

10) Daily dose of information. Take ten minutes to read your favorite websites or newspaper so you know all the relevant current events for the day. Why do it before you get your day started? You can read several websites without being interrupted by emails or calls.

9) Make the mornings about you. With minimal distractions happening this early, it’s one of the only times in the day to focus on yourself. Make some coffee, play with your pets or do yoga to set the tone of calm and balance for the day.

8) Appreciate the little things. You might see the sun set every day, but how often do you wake up early enough to appreciate a sunrise? It’s amazing how something as simple as watching the sun rise can help to put life into perspective.

7) You’re not running late! The “rush” and anxiety of running late in the morning can follow you all day long. Getting up earlier ensures you are on time and calmer once you get to work. Peter also mentions that “studies have shown that being on time is one thing that good leaders master, as well as demand.” Is your boss always on time? Impress them by doing the same.

6) Eat breakfast. Oh yes, that often forgotten but oh-so-important first meal of the day. As a helpful reminder, be sure to set out the bowl, spoon and cereal at night.

5) Move it! Waking up earlier means you get the park or treadmill all to yourself. When most people hit the gym around 6:30 a.m., you can be there to claim your space well before then.

4) A more enjoyable drive to work. Isn’t this enough reason to get up earlier? Hit the road before everyone else does and you’ll be much calmer throughout the day. Notice a pattern yet?

3) Greet the day like a power player. Want to know why CEOs and other leaders are so successful? One key secret is 7 a.m. breakfasts. They have important meetings with influential people over coffee and eggs because they get up earlier than everyone else.

2) “Spare time” activity. Wish you could update your blog more? Organize emails? Play piano? Do these activities early in the morning when you normally would be sleeping.

1) Do something important. Peter says the number one reason to get up early is to take 30 minutes to change the world. Getting up early can make a difference in your life for all the above reasons. Imagine just doing a few of these things. How much more productive would you feel each day?

While there are many benefits to waking up early, including finding that all-important balance - in the next post, we’ll talk about something that may be a little tougher to conquer: HOW to wake up earlier.

New Year's Resolutions: Practicing Balance Every Day

Happy New Year! A new year means new resolutions. For many of us, this might mean working out more, losing weight or saving money. Finding work-life balance may not be as common a resolution as losing weight, but it can have the same impact. What’s the real reason for finding balance? Feel better? Reduce stress? Be healthier? All of the above? But similar to many other resolutions, it can be easy to start – and too easy to stop.

The idea of initiating goals for the year on January 1 is absolutely reasonable – but only revisiting your life goals and priorities once a year is unreasonable. Instead, take time to revisit them on a regular – even daily – basis throughout the year, especially when there are major life events in the road ahead.  

For example, rather than setting a general goal of “finding balance” that may feel overwhelming, try asking “what is something small I can do each day to achieve balance in my life?” Whether it’s finding 30 minutes for yourself each day or leaving work at the office at the end of the day, these small, daily steps provide positive reinforcement as you work toward the ultimate goal. This maintains motivation because you’re achieving something every day.

By assessing and working toward your goals, including balancing work and life, on a regular or even daily basis, you can set attainable targets and be proud of all the things you’ve accomplished in the last year.   

Balancing Work and Life: Gratitude

More and more, I am convinced that if we take a few minutes to find gratitude early in our day, each day is more balanced. If we do this each day, that adds up to weeks, months, years –  and a life – of balance.

I like to watch the morning news as I get ready and dressed for the day. Unfortunately, most of it is bad news for breakfast. So what can we do to Scotchguard ourselves from the bad news around us? We can immerse ourselves in plain and simple gratitude by creating a mental – or even written – list of the good in our lives. Hey, just being thankful for waking up and putting our feet on the ground is something!

Years ago, when I realized I was having a “feel sorry for myself” day, I would MAKE myself drive by the local hospital on the way home from work. Yes, it was perhaps 10 minutes out of my way, but I consciously knew I had to snap myself out of it and make room for gratitude. Now, I start my mornings with a breakfast of gratitude to make sure every day is in proper perspective.  

Gratitude is like attitude in that it’s contagious. The more you focus on the positive, the more positive comes your way! Plus, you have the power to spread it around.

As we enter 2012, be powerful in your gratitude and see how your day, week, month and new year goes! Watch how it spreads around you. And, a bonus is that someone in your world will have you on THEIR grateful list.

Balancing Work and Life: Rekindle Your First Love

Think back to your first love. Are you visualizing a much younger version of yourself in a special time of your life?

Last night I was on my last cell of energy, feeling half ill from the weeks of pushing myself, driven through the Christmas season, and now finding myself dressing for a formal party which I had previously looked forward to, but was now just dragging towards. My body, nor my heart was in it and every move felt exaggerated. The couch looked so much better to join – not a party!

Arriving and making my hellos through the crowd, I was doing my best to be myself enjoying the festive crowd. A lovely dinner was served and the conversation went well. At least I was getting to sit down, I thought, which was a great consolation for a much tired me. 

And then the most rewarding, uplifting and renewing experience happened. My first love arrived at the party. I sat up straighter, my heart beat a bit faster, my dull headache faded, a warm tingling feeling raced from my toes to my cold fingertips. A genuine smile even spread across my face and the tired lines disappeared as a younger version of myself appeared. I felt the love. I had pushed back this feeling for so long. I realized immediately I had not be attentive to my own needs.

A fabulously talented pianist sat down and filled the air with piano music – my first love. My heart felt joy and I was also mentally playing every note, remembering what my first love and passion was. I had been a professional pianist for 20+ years and had thrived and survived on expressing myself through music. How remiss on my part to neglect my first love.

As I filled my cup by the end of the evening, I walked away with the knowledge that I had forgotten to feed my passion. My current work self, who never gets the list finished, had not spent any time restoring the life me. I had a new attitude on balancing my life and work.

Have your spent time with your first love lately? As you can see from this story, it is not cheating on your present self. Set aside some quality time to restore yourself, and may your days be merry and bright. God bless.

Givers and Takers: The Balance

The holidays are a time when people are fixated on giving. We shop for presents to give our friends and family. We search for the perfect gift and enjoy the emotional response of them liking it. There has to be some endorphin released doing this because so many people love to give. Give, give give!

Many years ago (which I refer to with my friends as BL as in "Before Larry") I was a big giver. The giving I am speaking of, though, is not physical gifts, but relationship giving. I was wearing myself out trying to please people and give, give, give. 

I have a friend who who recognized my imbalance of giving and taking. When he approached me about it - and did and intervention of sorts - I was in total denial. Eventually, he gave me a book, The Givers & The Takers, to read and absorb. This book explains that being a giver is not all good, that we needed to find times and relationships in which to take.

Needless to say, this 25-year-old intervention has stuck with me. I have thought about it and worked with the idea for years, and find that a balance means not only reaching a good place, but it has also grown in other parts of my life.

Givers and takers. I hope today you can take with you this lesson and apply it to find more balance in your life.

Turning Off the Workaholic Mindset

At certain points in life, we find ourselves working very hard on our careers. Whether we’re working toward a promotion, looking for a new position or even relocating, it’s during these times we need to be especially mindful of our work life balance. I came across a great post on the Work Awesome blog by Nathan Gilmore that shares a number of pointers about how to create balance – and happiness – at work and home.

Here are 10 key points that Nathan shares:

1)     Work fewer hours
Thanks to smartphones, many people feel they must always be connected and ready to work. Gilmore also suggests establishing a four-day work week.

2)     Spend time with family and friends

Create a similar work schedule to the important people in your life so you can enjoy free time together.

3)     Save work for the office

Having a “working environment” is crucial, but equally important is having a “non-working environment.” Make your home a place of rest, not an extension of your office.

4)     Keep your eyes off your phone
Do you have that itch to “always be connected?” Set a regularly scheduled day or timeframe to turn it off. It’s important to spend quality time with your family and friends and keep your focus and attention on them during that time.

5)     Find a few hobbies

Enjoying hobbies will help you get out of work mode. It’s especially helpful if those hobbies can include friends or family because it helps you stay connected.

6)     Enjoy relaxing

It’s okay to relax and take time to recharge your mind and body. If you don’t take time for yourself, you won’t be as productive at work or at home.

7)     Accomplish personal goals

Think of all the time and energy you put into reaching goals at work. It’s equally as important to have a few reasonable life goals to work toward.

8)     Only think about working while at work

Again, shut off that phone! Be in the present and focus on what you’re currently doing. Only think about work when you are physically at work.

9)     Help your friends and community

Donate to a charity, give back to your community or help someone you know. You will feel better about yourself when you do something for others.

10)  Don’t wait, do it now!

When you physically punch out of work today, mentally do the same thing. Don’t check anymore email for the day. Shut off your work mind and focus on everything else going on in your life, because there’s always plenty to think about.