WORK-LIFE BALANCE

Naisha Singh has a husband, three kids and a public relations business in Gurgaon.
Her hectic life speaks volumes about what time management means to her. As she puts it: "I'm running all the time."
In the 3G fast pace life, there are many pressures that new-age couples have to deal with- running a home, managing daily chores like cooking/cleaning, raising children and handle the tough deadlines at work!
Ever wondered how the 21st century couples deal with all this? How can they divide their daily work, make sure their children get the right amount of attention and time and also be productive at work?
The changing economic conditions and social demands have changed the nature of work throughout the world. Originally, work was a matter of necessity and survival. Throughout the years, the role of "work" has evolved and the composition of the workforce has changed.

Today, work is widely viewed as a source of personal satisfaction. A good balance in work and life can play a phenomenal role in the attainment of personal and professional goals.
By definition work life balance is about people having measure of control over when, where and how they work. There is a view that work-life balance only in the framework of what the company does for the individual.

However, work-life balance is a two-pronged approach. The other prong of work-life balance, which many individuals overlook, relates to what individuals do for themselves. The core of work life balance could also be summed as achievement with enjoyment.
To understand the need of work life balance, one first needs to understand about work life imbalance, as with the understanding of the origin, causes and effects of this imbalance, the balancing act becomes easier. The corporate world of today is exceedingly demanding. The work culture varies from organization to organization.

Today the deadlines are getting tighter and an individual's job is not only to match that deadline but also to give quality output. Due to this work pressure it becomes exceedingly difficult to maintain a family life. It becomes very difficult to have the engagement of mind with the engagement of body. In every individual's life there are four stakeholders- own personality, job, family and society.
Lifestyle stress manifests at different levels. At a somatic level the body physiology changes, causing a disturbance in sleep patterns and appetite, unexplained aches and pains and fatigue. Stress impacts the mind and brain function, reducing the attention span, increased forgetfulness and causing a tendency to brood unnecessarily on matters which are sometimes trivial.
The imbalance also has a negative impact in the personal life of working people-some of which have even become social hazards- increasing number of divorces, infertility due high stress levels, advent of nuclear families etc.

Professionals today seem to be more interested in jobs that give them increased flexibility at work. Working people have different needs at different stages of their working life. As a result, people strive for balance in their working hours and their personal commitments. Work life balance has now become a sensitive issue because it offers obvious benefits to organizations and its employees.

Successfully addressing this issue can lead to a healthy synergy in the working environment of an organization and its employees. Organizations can look forward to a phenomenal increase in efficiency and working hours and their personal commitments. Work life balance has now become a sensitive issue because it offers obvious benefits to organizations and its employees.
Today, technology not just makes your life easy and simple, but also brings a work-life balance. There are many working couples, who constantly stay connected on mobile Internet- using email, social networking websites.

ere are 10 principles you can use to get more done in less time—and get back to a healthy balance between time spent at work and home:

1. Set Goals. Set specific goals with actions and incremental milestones that you can track. Define your goals in terms that create a vivid mental picture of your desired end-state. Written goals help you establish clarity of purpose and provide accountability. Regularly review them and your progress against them. Like going on a road trip, you will get to your destination much easier if you map the best route.

2. Focus on the Important. With the many communications channels and other distractions vying for your attention, staying focused is a constant challenge. Don’t let the urgent, the convenient and the immediate distract you from the important. Stay focused on reaching the milestones that support your goals. Be proactive. Create the habit of working intentionally. Minimize your distractions. Make a “not to-do” list and adhere to it.

3. Set Your Own Standards. Don’t mindlessly follow social and cultural norms. Instead, follow your own values. Establish your own principles of operations. Define the few principles by which you will operate your business and your life. Let them guide you instead of following the latest fads and over-hyped products.

4. Learn to Say “No.” You cant do everything. You can’t attend every seminar or go to every social function. You can’t even go to every family gathering. Of course you might like to, but there just aren’t enough hours in the day. Learn to say no. Or if it is truly worthy, learn to use “yes, if …” instead of just “yes.” In other words, put conditions on activities you can influence like adding “if you can make the food this time” or “if there is a way to shorten the event to a half-hour.”

5. Delegate. Just because there are activities that you can’t say no to doesn’t mean you have to be the one that does them. No one is successful on their own. Solicit the help of others. Outsource activities that others can do as well as or better than you. Delegate responsibilities to people that have more bandwidth than you. If you have a house to clean and a teenager at home who needs some spending money, outsource the cleaning to them. It’s a win-win solution for you both. If you were hit by a bus tomorrow and had to spend the next month in a hospital, consider who would do your work and start delegating it to them now.

6. Be More Productive at What You Do. For those activities you must do yourself, find ways to be as efficient as you can. Your time is your most valuable resource—don’t squander it. Create reusable templates for anything that you do repeatedly. Employ tools and computer applications to automate your tasks as much as possible. Streamline your processes so that there is little wasted time and effort, particularly where there are hand-offs between people.

7. Get Organized. You can’t be your most productive if you’re not organized. Stacks of inbound correspondence mixed with reference material and time sensitive documents aren’t conducive to quick reference and follow-up. Establish a filing system that gives you ready access. Set up a “one-touch” approach to dealing with e-mails, letters, text-messages, bills, reference materials, voice messages and other requests. Utilize the “Do, Delegate, Delete or File” principle.

8. Maintain Your Energy. Being tired robs you of the energy you need to stay productive and focused. Get a good night’s rest of uninterrupted sleep—seven hours, if possible. Eat a balanced diet and follow good nutritional guidelines. Take vitamin and mineral supplements. Exercise at least 30 minutes a day, three times a week at your doctor-recommended cardio levels—it will recharge your body’s battery just like a cell-phone charger.

9. Don’t Worry. Leave your worries behind. Do what you can to resolve your problems and that is good enough. Worrying and chronic stress are bad for your health and energy level and provide no substantive benefit to you or others. Studies show that 92 percent of what people worry about has already happened, won’t change a thing or is completely unfounded. Channel your energy into more productive uses. Go exercise instead.

10. Maintain Some White Space on Your Calendar. Pretend there isn’t as much availability on your calendar as it affords. Take a break. Carve out some time for reflection. The cliché that your best ideas come to you in the shower is more fact than fiction. When relaxed, your brain is free to unleash its power. Albert Einstein, Sir Isaac Newton, Archimedes of Syracuse and countless others were relaxing when they came up with their world-changing ideas.

The concept of Work life balance is becoming more and more relevant in a never-dynamic working environment. The role played by the individual is as important as that of the organization in managing this tumultuous see saw. One of the novel approaches to this is by the use of one's emotional intelligence.

This will help people realize what they want to do, which in turn will lead to stronger organizations based on stronger values, orientations and ethics.