Balancing Work and Personal Life

Balancing Personal and Professional Life

Neanderthals probably spent time worrying about balancing hunting/gathering and quality time in the
caveand certainly we know that in business, whenever something goes wrong in a big way, the boss
always resigns to "spend more time with my family"but it's a special concern in academia where time
clocks are not punched, where work and personal life often overlap.
Professor Vince Resh of the Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, College of
Natural Resources, University of California, Berkeley surveyed 72 colleagues from around the world on
how they balance their personal and professional lives. As you will see from the results of his survey,
there are no right answers for everyone; indeed, often the suggestions are contradictory. Nonetheless, the
responses gathered provide good insight into this issue.

Define Yourself by Something Other than Work:

Have hobbies or do volunteering

Create a circle of non-work friends
Most scientists define themselves by their work and cannot separate themselves (and don't want
to)
Stop and Smell the Roses
Always take one day off a week
Take annual vacations
At meetings always include non-work activities
Be gone as often as possible
Celebrate completing a project or teaching-leave campus and take in a matinee, museum, ball
game, go to racetrack

Be Realistic:

Expect to have periods when you are not productive-you need down time. You CAN take a break
and leave the office/lab
Avoid trying to meet unrealistic deadlines; prioritize meeting deadlines that matter (e.g. grants)
and try to work on them early
Don't expect compliments or use them as a measure of how you are doing; you need to be "inner
directed"

Family:

Placing family first is a common response, some indicated they didn't do this and have regrets
Involve family in work (travel together, attend lectures, meetings, and so forth)
Merge students and family in social activities
Collaborate with colleagues that spouse likes to make long-lasting friendships
Discuss every day what happened to each family member
Have hobbies you do with family (solo hobbies can take away time from family)
Have a set time of going to and leaving work every day
Work is over-rated and most of us will not be remembered for accomplishments in our field. We
will live on in the memory of friends, colleagues, students and, of course, family). Do things to
ensure this.

Professional Lives:

Give up idea of being rich or famous

Copy what others do to work efficiently
Delegate whenever possible. Hire a work-study student to do as many time-consuming tasks as
possible
Let things slide that don't really matter; don't be a perfectionist about your own work or that of
your students
Learn to say no
Avoid all administrative positions

Personal lives:

Don't marry
Marry someone who works as much as you do
Marry someone who runs your personal life
Marry someone with different interests
Marry someone with a science background
Do as much work at home as possible
Don't ever work at home

ButBlend Professional and Personal Lives Together:

Don't worry about balance, as a scientist you can't do it-it's your whole life and affects all you do
Science is our hobby
Involve family in scientific activities (vacations become collecting trips, attending meetings)

Poignant Responses:

You don't miss personal life or think of balance until you lose it
Science is my way of making a living, without it I can have no personal life
Having a child forces you to prioritize the two issues
Get a grandchild

Best Advice:

Personal life is the energy supply for professional life; about three times every day I need to sit
back and really appreciate something in my life.
I can tell when I spend too much time at work because I get "cranky"; I can tell when I spend too
little time working because I get "itchy"
Balance is overrated; appreciate the high and low points of both aspects of life and expect them to
vary in proportion over time.

University of California-Berkeley. New Faculty Teaching Newsletter # 22

March 9, 2007

Balancing Work and Personal Life

Balancing Work and Life: Effectively Handling Professional and Personal
Demands
Christine Scivicque (Reprinted with Permission, dated 4/03/2010)
Additional articles may be found on Chrissy Scivicques website: www.chrissyscivicque.com
September 16, 2007

How to achieve career success without missing out on life.

It is a struggle every working professional knows well: how to balance the demands of life with
those of your career. All too often one gets consumed with professional activities making the
sale, finishing the report, preparing for the meeting. You get so involved with the everyday
demands of achieving your professional goals that you let your personal goals and relationships
suffer. It is easy to say that career must take priority. After all, without work you wouldnt have
the money to provide for yourself and your family - and these are the ultimate personal goals. So
you justify the added hours spent at the office by saying it is for the good of the family. But at
what cost? How much do you miss out on when you let work time spill over into your personal
time? Anyone who has fallen victim to this knows the answer. You miss a lot!
You must learn to balance your personal responsibilities, relationships and goals with your
professional ones. They must all live in harmony together. Otherwise, you end up resentful. You
grow distant from the people you love, feel overwhelmed by the pressure to keep up the pace,
and lose sense of what is truly important. In order to maintain the delicate balance between work
and life, try the following:

Learn to Set Limits at Work

This is something most career oriented people have a hard time with but eventually, you have to
do it. Otherwise, work ends up running your life and you get completely overwhelmed in the
process. Setting limits involves learning to respectfully say no, delegating effectively, and setting
time restrictions for you. Read more in the article entitled, How to Set Limits at Work.

Treat Personal Time as Seriously as You Treat Work Time

When you tell your daughter you will be at her soccer game, treat it like any business
appointment on your calendar. It is a commitment that cannot be shrugged off for something
more important. You wouldnt dream of missing a meeting with a client so treat your meetings
with your family and friends the exact same way. And while you are at it, schedule a meeting
with yourself! If you are busy with work responsibilities, make an appointment to take yourself
out to lunch or go for a walk. Treat the appointment like any other. It is a commitment that is not
to be missed.

Learn to Compartmentalize
You cant just physically balance the time spent at work and the time spent at home to achieve
balance. You must also balance yourself mentally. When you are spending time with your
family, you cant allow work to distract your attention. Going to your daughters soccer game
and talking on your cell phone the whole time defeats the purpose of being there. When you are
doing personal activities, be present both mentally and physically. Just like when you are
doing career activities. Organize your mental space and keep them separate as much as
possible. Dont bring your work troubles home and when you go to work, dont bring your
personal drama with you.

Re-evaluate Your Priorities

Whenever you feel your life getting out of balance, take some time to consider what is most
important. It is easy to get sidetracked with the unimportant things simply because they are there,
demanding your time and attention. Learn to recognize what is important and what is just
sucking away your time, energy and attention. Set clear personal and professional goals and
simplify your life to include only what is important in helping you reach those goals.
Finding the perfect work-life balance is a lifelong journey. It doesnt happen overnight. It only
happens with serious effort and constant attention.

Balancing Work and Personal Life

How to Set Limits at Work: A Key to Balancing Personal Life and Career
Christine Scivicque (Reprinted with Permission, dated 4/03/2010)
Additional articles may be found on Chrissy Scivicques website: www.chrissyscivicque.com

September 16, 2007

Enjoying a successful career AND a satisfying life can sometimes seem like an impossible
dream. Setting limits at work is the first step to achieving such balance.

The idea of balancing life and work revolves around first establishing limits. Without clearly
defined boundaries on the job, you may find yourself overwhelmed or taken advantage of. In
addition, you wont have time to enjoy your personal life. Read on to learn what three steps will
help you set limits at work and allow for a better work/life balance.

Learn to Respectfully Say No

Many people are predisposed to believing that saying no is not allowed at work. This simply is
not true. There are many circumstances where you can, and should, say no. The key is to do so in
a respectful, professional manner. You should feel free to say no at work when:

You are feeling overwhelmed and unable to keep up with your existing work load
You feel the work is irrelevant or unnecessary to your job
You believe the work would be more appropriately handled by another individual
You feel your work load is unfair or inappropriate

The best way to say "no" is to be straightforward and honest. Explain your situation and
respectfully offer an alternative. If there is a constant situation that arises which causes you to
have to say no, you might want to address the issue with a superior. Sit down and explain why
you dont feel the work is appropriate for you. Together you can re-evaluate your tasks and
establish some appropriate and agreed upon limits.

Set Time Restrictions for Yourself

If you are the type of person who gets absorbed in a project and works for hours and hours
without realizing how much time has passed, you might want to look into getting a timer.
Restricting the amount of time you are willing to dedicate to certain projects will help keep you
within your established boundaries. Dont let yourself get carried away finishing a report and end
up staying at the office until midnight. This is incredibly damaging to your work/life balance. Set
a firm time restriction and keep to it.

Delegate Effectively
You shouldnt try to take on every task yourself. Many fall into the trap of thinking that it is
easier to simply do things themselves that way, you know it gets done and it gets done right or at least the way you think it should be done. But that kind of thinking can keep you bogged
down for eternity. You simply must learn to allow others to help. By delegating tasks, you will
gain more free time and the time you spend working will be more effectively used. Take the time
now to teach others how to do the tasks that only you know. Its worth the effort to train others.
Appropriate delegation of tasks can have an enormous impact on your work load.