February 4, 2013

Achieve work-life balance naturally with these 5 tips

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We all know at least someone who amazes us with the amount of energy they have and the ease with which they juggle demanding careers and social lives. They seem to not only excel at their jobs, but also find the time to join book clubs, whip up a batch of cookies for their kids' school bake sale and still go out dancing on Friday nights.

Rather than hate these people (which is my usual knee-jerk reaction), career consultant Cali Williams Yost, CEO and founder of Flex+Strategy Group/Work+Life Fit, says we should be more like them — a task that may not be as hard as you think. In her latest book, Tweak It: Make What Matters to You Happen Every Day, she lays the groundwork for readers to emulate these gifted individuals.

After observing the habits of these work-life "naturals," as she calls them, for nearly 20 years, Yost estimates that they make up about 10 to 15 percent of the general population. Most of these naturals, she adds, don't waste time studying 12-step programs in time management. Instead, they are the lucky ones who seem to figure out intuitively how to make everything fit together.

Over the years, Yost has noticed these five common traits the work-life naturals tend to share:

1) They are their own bosses. Though many of them work for other people, the work-life naturals don't always need supervisors or time clocks to run their daily schedules. "No one is going to tell them when to finish a work project, get to the gym, learn new job skills, get their car serviced or take their son to the movies," she says.

2) They keep all appointments on one calendar. Rather than keeping work commitments and private schedules in separate mental silos, naturals store all scheduling information in one place. That way, they can prioritize urgent items and meetings, and react quickly to resolve any conflicts should they arise.

3) They consistently find time for self-reflection. They may take things in stride, but that doesn't mean these naturals aren't introspective. Yost says they ask themselves questions, such as, "What do I want more of? What do I want less of? What do I want to continue?" After answering these, they take action to get their job skills up to date and strengthen their personal relationships.

4) They measure progress in tiny steps. While they keep large-scale objectives in mind, they recognize the importance of setting short-terms goals each day and week. On a regular basis, Yost says, naturals will find the time to check on personal finances to make sure their investments are safe, set aside a work-free "date night" with their partners, and/or catch up with out-of-town family members.

5) They're not perfectionists. This may be the most important and surprising point. Though they seem to glide through life, the naturals have their feet still rooted to the ground and understand that there are limits to what they can do each day. They "celebrate what does get done, even if it's only part of what they had planned," Yost adds. "It's better than nothing and, over time, creates a solid foundation of well-being and order we all crave."

Randy Woods writes about job-search tools, networking techniques and other tips to help you land your dream job.

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enthusiasm, finding your passion, goal-setting, productivity, self-confidence, time management, work/life balance