For many people, breaking away from the gravitational pull of work is extremely difficult. In fact, for the high-achievers among us, it may seem down right counterintuitive. In pursuit of work-place success, our personal lives are usually the first thing we sacrifice. But this puts us in a precarious position — when our work/life balance is off, our performance suffers, along with our happiness and motivation. We end up feeling overworked, exhausted, and depleted. And overtime, we begin to lose sight of the very reason we became so invested in our work in the first place. In order to truly “make it,” mastering your work/life balance is not just a nice-to-have, but a necessity.
What To Do With Unexpected Free Time
What do you do when 30 minutes of free time falls in your lap? A client with two school aged kids shared this story the other day:
“Pat was grocery shopping, Max was at a playdate, Eliana was taking a nap. I suddenly found myself with a glorious window of time and I should have done something fun, but I had no idea what to do with myself.”
Impeccable Service
Last week, I arrived at a small midtown cafe for a breakfast meeting with a prospective client. As I walked through the door, the host enthusiastically greeted me by name, (though I had never been there before), confirmed who I was there to meet (also by name), and escorted me with authentic familiarity to the table. His warm and engaging style made my prospect and I feel like old friends, and set the tone for an incredibly productive meeting...
Minimize Interruptions While Keeping Everyone Happy
Interruptions are one of the most challenging aspects of working with others. Like everyone, you want to be reasonably accessible to the people you work with, and a true team player. But an over-the-top need to people-please can be a time trap; if you spend all day in helper-mode it's at the expense of completing more revenue-driven tasks.