Finding Work-Life Balance

Online Publications Best Picks for August ´08

For a knowledge worker of the 21st century, finding the right balance between work and personal life has proven to be a frustrating quest. This month, as online publications swing their focus to this very issue, we found common sense solutions that will provide clarity to this long standing and unresolved problem.
Our scan of the web also yielded articles on how to learn and recover from failures; a skill which some of our sources insist is a defining trait of truly successful individuals.

Our Top Five Picks for the Month

The Wall Street Journal

Work and Life, Boundaries and Balance
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal’s, Henry Cloud asserts that the “One Life Solution” for finding work-life balance is learning to set boundaries between your various roles and commitments. Without boundaries, a person is in danger of being too fragmented and scattered, says Dr Cloud. When we are fragmented, time management software and planners do nothing more than frustrate us. Dr Cloud also argues that instead of helping us, modern technology like cell phones and computers tear down time and space boundaries, leaving interpersonal relationships in a sordid state. The solution is simple: Create boundaries, set clear goals and create structure to bring life back under control.

The Huffington Post

Lessons from the Edge: How to Reinvent Yourself
In an inspirational article, Dr Cara Barker dares her readers to “come to the edge” of themselves, by breaking self-limiting beliefs and living life to the fullest. She gives four points of focus:

1. Exploration, to go forward with courage;2. Trusting the process, or having faith to live large despite the unexpected turns in life;3. Permission, to give yourself the chance to shed limiting beliefs;4. Contribution, to embrace and focus on a higher purpose, so as to be able to give to others in your current state.

Forbes.Com

How to Recover from Failure
Failure is inevitable, Forbes’s writers tell us, and it is essential on the journey of building things of lasting value. Hence, failure is not meant to destroy us, but to challenge us and help us grow. To recover from failure, the writers suggest a few choice tactics to overcome the blow of defeat:

• Encourage yourself with words of wisdom from well-respected men or women.
• Demolish the familiar and start anew.
• Reaffirm your own convictions.
• Meditate.
• Look for encouragement from your loved ones.

These tactics will not only rejuvenate your fallen spirit, but strengthen your resolve to try again.

The New York Times

Winners Never Quit? Well, Yes, They Do
When it comes to the subject of quitting, Vince Lombardi and Seth Godin are on opposite ends. Lombardi famously stated that “quitters never win, and winners never quit,” while Godin claims that in fact “winners do quit all the time, they just quit the right stuff at the right time.” Kathleen D. Voh, a professor of marketing at the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management, is proving that Seth Godin might have a far stronger case. Professor Voh’s research finds that a person’s goal-attaining resources are finite, meaning that if you are spending far too much effort on a frustrating goal, you are less likely to be successful in other areas. In addition, a person who fails to renounce an unattainable goal will feel considerable stress, resulting in an increase of C-reactive protein (the C-reactive protein is an inflammatory molecule linked to heart disease and diabetes).
The article also cites an interesting study from the book “Sway: The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior” (Brafman and Brafman, 2008), where an auction for a 20 dollar bill ends in a ridiculous final bid of 204 dollars – all in the name of winning.
The key, says Professor Voh, is to make sure that unattainable goals are replaced by clear and rational ones. While persistence remains important, it has to be balanced with knowing when to quit.

SelfGrowth.Com (Success Principles)

Guide for the Perplexed
Dr William S. Cottringer’s illuminating article is a guiding light for making sense of the massive and often internally conflicting personal development market. He establishes ground rules in his article which give an unbiased perspective of the endless fads common to personal development. Here, we list the best three:

1. There are no short-cuts or magic pills; this includes “The Secret” and its Law of Attraction. Genuine progress comes from consistent effort practiced over a long period. This takes much persistence and perseverance.2. Self-improvement programs are based on many years of the authors’ life experiences and may realistically take an equal amount of time to understand and apply for the kind of results purported by the authors.3. There is no “one-size-fits-all” personal development system. Systems need to be adapted and customised to the context of the individual user and the application at hand. 

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