A Take Time to Evaluate.
It's great that you love your job and want to build your career! But, it can be a mixed blessing when that same job you love is what pulls you away from time with your family. In this day and age in the United States, it’s fairly normal to spend 50+ hours a week at your job, especially if you're a salaried employee. The truth is, most companies are happy if you put in more time. And most families aren’t happy when you do. No one is going to balance your life for you—it’s up to you!

Whenever I feel like I'm starting to get out of balance, I take some time to evaluate my situation and look at how much time I'm applying to work vs. time with my family and time for myself. There have been times in my career when my work week was 80+ hours, but that doesn’t happen any longer. Why? Because I take time out to evaluate my situation and ensure I maintain a better balance in my life. I’ve also become much better at time management the older I’ve become – and I’m very careful to limit my time watching television. You’d be surprised at how many hours you can recover if you take a hard look at where your time really goes!

Back when I used to work 80+ hours a week, someone very wise gave me some great advice. The person said, “When you look back on your life, you won’t look back and wish you’d worked more hours – you’ll look back on your life and wish you’d spent more time with your family and friends.” Now that I’m a wiser woman myself, I truly believe in the wisdom of those words from all those years ago. Here are some tips for creating more balance in your life.

1. Set time aside for yourself
2. Evaluate your current situation
3. Set goals for work/life balance
4. Check back in to make sure you're achieving your goals

When you do your best to set reasonable parameters to separate work and your personal life, you’ll find that when you enjoy high-quality, personal and family time, you'll actually be more refreshed and productive at work.

A couple other ideas for those of you looking for a change of pace:

The job you have may offer flexible work hours. Talk with your manager about whether you can switch to flexible, part-time or reduced hours. Or, you might want to think about becoming your own boss – many women around the world are choosing this option, especially if you have unique skills. You could offer a consulting service, for instance. A friend of mine was recently in the same situation and began her own one-person business in creative scrapbooking services out of her house. She became the CEO of her own company and her own time and is now able to spend more time with her family.

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