WORK & LIFE BALANCE
SHORTEN YOUR TO DO LIST
Continuously adding more items to our To Do lists isn't the route to well being. You don't have to follow through on every idle plan or half-baked project—you don't have to learn French or how to skydive—unless you really want to. Follow Arianna's Huffington's advice in The Third Metric: assess your tasks and then drop them if they're not that important. This frees time and leaves more energy for what is most important to you. This includes family, friends, and following your own muse. Do you need creative time? Sports time? More nap time? Take it. You can say no.
The key word here is YOU. We don't like to think of ourselves as quitters. So we go on and on, sticking to tasks long after we've lost motivation. Or we may be working so much overtime that life has lost its pleasure. Many of us forget that “life is not a dress rehearsal.” A weekend spent staring at your iPad instead of with your friends or family—is still a weekend that's gone forever.
SAY NO
Saying no should be enough when other people press--or your silent worrier self does. Stop making excuses or thinking up reasons. No is sufficient. This is another take home from Arianna Huffington: NO is a sentence. Women tend to say, “No, because...” Men rarely do. However high we may have advanced career-wise, most of us still say, “No, because..., as in, No, I can't finish that project at home tonight because my laptop is on the fritz plus all four kids have flu...” Try just saying no.
Work smarter instead of harder or longer or more—this may be the best route to the top for women, says Arianna H.
On Changing Direction
“I was very interested by the idea that dropping a project can be the way forward,” says skin care expert Maxine Warsh. “I've been guilty of letting distractions get in the way of what I really want to do. You don't have to batter your brains out trying to finish or learn something you no longer have time or need for—simply stop doing it. I'm so aware of the value of being aware and incorporating all the elements that help you live a better life, feel better and, of course, look better.... sometimes, it's simply making the right choices (big and small!) that plays the key role in your well-being.”
Work for you instead of your boss: quick training on a light budget from Maxine Warsh to become an anti-aging practitioner!
Appeared first in gabbymag.com
