Ready to Learn Mom

Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric, created a stir at the SHRM conference in New Orleans this year by stating: “There’s no such thing as work-life balance. There are work-life choices, and you make them, and they have consequences.”

Organizations worry about being perceived as offering a good balance between work and personal time.

Many career sites and recruiters stress the ways the organization addresses this through flexible work policies, family-friendly HR polices, child care, and so on. And, for many job seekers, finding a company that offers this magic blend is the Holy Grail.

While Jack was addressing women specifically and speaking about their opportunities for promotion and growth within traditional corporate America, he was reinforcing this assumption. He was heavily criticized for talking to women in this way, even though it is an accurate reflection of the thinking in most of traditional corporate America.

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It’s harder than ever to keep up with both your job and your life away from it. Here’s how to start. 
 
Among the many things the average professional deals with daily: getting ahead at work; helping the kids with their homework; driving the school carpool; spending quality time with their significant other; caring for elderly parents; dealing with chores in the home; trying to get in just a few minutes to catch up with friends.

Life can feel like a constant battle between our professional and personal lives, especially now, with the economic distress making our lives more challenging than ever in so many ways. Before you beat yourself up about not being able to get everything done, consider these tips for achieving a better balance between your work and the rest of your life this year.

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We live in a hectic world, and our lives sometimes spin out of balance. Here is a simple list of twelve rules to experiment.

1. Have a Mantra:  A mantra is the main focus of meditation, a word or a phrase that you use to center your mind, bring calmness to the body, and assist with concentration. Use whatever word or phrase that bring you to meditation, and use it throughout the day to gain more control and feel calmer. 

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If your work life and personal life are out of balance, your stress may be running high. Here’s how to reclaim control.
 
Finding work-life balance in today’s frenetically paced world is no simple task.

Spend more time at work than at home, and you miss out on a rewarding personal life. Then again, when you face challenges in your personal life, such as caring for an aging parent or coping with marital problems, concentrating on your job can be difficult.

Whether the problem is too much focus on work or too little, when your work life and your personal life feel out of balance, stress — along with its harmful effects — is the result.

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Speaking of work-life balance and working moms, the WSJ has a piece today about returning to work after taking years off to raise kids.

Columnist Sue Shellenberger says that these moms might be facing the toughest job search of anyone.

“Beyond the recession and employer bias against dropouts, many also are burdened by outdated skills and self-doubt,” she says. And while there’s no way to eliminate that bias, there are a few creative strategies stay-at-home parents can use to get back into the workforce.

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Work/Life Balance Quiz A Quintessential Careers Quiz

Everyone faces the issue of time management at one point or another, but as more and more people deal with working at one or more jobs, fighting long commutes, managing a household, attending school or other training, raising one or more children, responding to increasing work and time pressures of the shrinking workplace, and dealing with aging parents, the days often seem to last long into the night and vacation and leisure time seem to be consumed with issues other than relaxation and personal fulfillment.

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By Leanne Phillips

There is not much that will ruin your day more than not getting a good night’s sleep the night before. Sleep is not a luxury–it is a necessity. A lack of sleep will affect your ability to focus and your ability to concentrate. A lack of sleep will also have an adverse effect on your performance. You will not do your best job if you are running on little or no sleep.

Contrary to popular belief, there is no such thing as “catching up” on sleep. Once you have lost sleep, it is gone forever. Extended periods of sleep deprivation will eventually affect your health. The concept of beauty sleep, however, is not a myth. Getting sufficient sleep each night is one of the best (and most inexpensive) beauty aids on the market.

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I am an author, publisher, consultant, blogger, speaker, motivator, keynote, spokesmom and Mom CEO and run 4 companies from home, around my family schedule.  I just did a segment on Milwaukee’s Morning Blend talking about balance using these talking points:

• Balance takes practice!
• Learn to say NO and not always YES!
• Carve out time for yourself daily. 
• Only you can make you happy!
• STOP comparing you to unrealistic role models.
• Don’t sweat the small stuff
• Good is good enough
• Be the best you can – one small change a day!
• Add an extra serving of carrots and a banana to keep your body in balance, too!

Smiles – Stacey

Stacey Kannenberg
“Ready To Learn Mom”