Get your life in balance!

No wonder we feel stressed:

• In 1954, less than one in three women (29%) in Australia were employed.
• In 2005  it was  57.0%
• 52.8% of women in Queensland have caring responsibilities for children and elderly parents, and with more women participating in the labour force, balancing work and family responsibilities has become an important issue
• Between 1982 and 2002, full-time workers working 50-59 hours per week (rose from 10% to 16%)
• Australia is the 5th highest country in the world for hours worked per worker and 6th highest amount of women working 45 hours and over
• We have all been in companies where supervisors and co-workers equate the number of hours spent in the workplace with productivity, criticising efficient workers who complete tasks and leave on time. Performance should be assessed on the productivity and quality of the work, not just timeserving.
• Studies cited in Extended Working Hours in Australia: Counting the Costs indicate that employee productivity per hour for 10 -12 hour shifts is significantly lower than for an eight hour shift. One study found workers on 10 hour shifts reported significant performance impairments for alertness, memory and attention compared to eight hour shifts

No wonder we feel ill

It is well documented that many health problems occur as a result of increased stress such as heart problems and depression.   At one company I worked in out of 20 staff in one year we had at least seven suffering from major illnesses.

Stop I want to get off

As you know in life there are times when things go smoothly everything makes sense and you enjoy life however for most of us at some stage we have that experience of life going to pieces. We feel like our world is falling apart or we are losing the plot. This is when you start to feel that you can’t keep it together any more. That you feel you’ve lost sight of who you truly are amongst all the schedules, commitments and demands from children and family.

Often you may feel that you want to get off the treadmill you just want time to yourself to take stock and re-plan but feel that you will be letting people down.  You feel there is no one to turn to help, there are bills to be paid, a business to be run, a mortgage to pay, children to care for and dinners to be made.  You think just feeling blue or just not quite right is not good enough to justify a whole change to what you’re doing and where you’re going.

Am I stressed?

You will certainly know if you are stressed as there are very clear signs such as depression, anxiety, irritability, easily bursting into tears, insomnia, a knot in your stomach when you get out of bed, an overwhelming feeling that you just can’t cope any longer, confused thoughts, heart racing, panic attacks, the feeling of two much to do in too little time, over or under eating or excesses drinking of alcohol. Take your pick or you could have a whole cocktail of them. They are the signs, so take heed of them, do not ignore them.

Don’t leave it too late, when you could be facing the possibility of your health dictating how the rest of your life will be.  You and your family come first!

Think of your family even in times of building wealth otherwise they may not be there when you’re rich and a CEO.

Decide what is important on a day to day week to week basis.  Include in your diary things that are important to you personally for you, your husband/wife/partner and children.  Ask them what their priorities are and matchup where you can. Communicate and compromise where you can’t but not at the expense of what you also need to do to be happy and to grow. It may seem an impossible task but if you don’t try you and your family won’t be happy anyway. Yes you may not get to the top as quickly but the journey will be more fun and less stressful and if you’re happy what does it matter.

Take time to contemplate as this leads to clarity.  It allows you to

If you do decide to make a radical change and feel your old life unravel don’t panic and doubt whether you’ve done the right thing otherwise you’ll be tempted to go back into the old ways which were predictable and secure even though you were unhappy.  However if you can hang in there with the support of friends and family you get used to like being a little less predictable and you now have time to see the things you’ve been missing, reawakening what you used to enjoy.

Plan your business financially and from a starting point of view to take a month off say every year, with your clients being looked after by competent staff that you trust. If you are not in a position yet to do this keep searching for good, reliable backup and develop systems so  staff can’t make big mistakes while you’re away.

Your health and happiness is vital without it you have nothing so take care of yourself first, ensure you less stressed and enjoy your family while you are on your business path.