Balance Personal and Professional
For me, this seems to be the most stressful aspect of my job here. The pressure to work more hours, do more, being forced to commit to things that take away from my family life causes me great stress. Anyone have any tips for maintaining that balance?
Lori,
I have seen many employees terminated or just leaving because of family members working in the work place. It takes a talented family to comprise they are part of the team. If the employees can feel this it works fine.
Dr. Gary Carlson
I have a comment about working with family members. This can be a major source of stress and conflict in an office because there are different sets of expectations and levels of tolerance for family and non-family employees. Do you have any comments or advice on elaing with this type of stress?
Darrell,
You seem to be very organized. Organization can help with your success with the day to day challenges.
Dr. Gary Carlson
Hi Aaron,
Getting started is the most difficult part. A good way to stay committed to healthy eating/exercise is to pre package meals and bring workout clothes to work. After work, try to head directly to the gym instead of leaving from home. It works!
Claudia,
Every challenge becomes an opportunity. We need to address our challenges with a mind set for succeeding.
Dr. Gary Carlson
I Agree.
In order to succeed we need to organize ourselves in every aspect of life and learn how to calmly overcome stress. I would say that it is looking for a positive point in each situation instead of having stress.
Alonzo,
Woring long hours and harder may not be the formula for success. Woring smarter is the key to success. Never forget the friends and family! When you have this balance you can survive the pressures of the day to day challenges.
Dr. Gary Carlson
one must be careful not to fall into the "I need to work more hours to get everything done" scenerio because things around you will suffer. Family, freinds and even work will feel the strain that working too much will put on you. Your family will suffer by you not being around, your friends will suffer by you not being around and your job will suffer due to you over working yourself. Thinking that you HAVE to work all these additional hours because if you don't do it, no one else will will only put deeper in the "stress hell-hole" and no one wins - because your productivity will also suffer. Take a break and rest - see your family and friends, then come back and finish what you started
Austin,
You are on the right track. It is like you have read my philosophy on these issues. Good job!
Dr. Gary Carlson
Saying no to additional job will not hurt. prioritize your tasks and complete the more urgent ones first. Also evaluate the consequence of delaying any assignment, if it is not consequential then move to more critical ones. Strive to balance work with family. Make it clear that you would have to leave work at closing because your kid is waiting and you cannot afford to stay longer. Let your family know when to expect you from work.
Austin Umezurike
Elizabeth,
God Bless you with your courage and commitment. We often can discuss how we deal with stress but sometimes it is the ability to reach down inside of ourselves to protect our family and friends. You have shown this ability and I know with your faith and determination there will be better times ahead.
With all that said it is important to keep good habits in place for yourself. Have a balance in your life of mental activity, physical exercise, spirituality and recreation. You will be in my thoughts and prayers.
I wish you the best of luck!
Gary
I understand this all too well. My husband lost his job in '09. We had to move from the West Coast to the Midwest (our family is here), and besides having family here, this has been the most challenging for my husband and I. Our lives have been upside-down ever since. I do try the best I can to run a household with two little kids and two sick grandparents(in-laws). My saving grace is going to a job that I thoroughly enjoy and know that I am making a difference in the student's life. I am a very organized person. I plan, plan, and plan. Somewhow just didn't plan for the layoff to last this long. We all need to keep our head up and breathe.
Blanca,
Prioritities and activity that is a must for your family has to be constantly and stucturally have to first on your mind. It is important to organize yourself to not feel guilty or slighted because of the rigor of your life.
You are correct with your happiness philosophy. Having job that doesn't feel like a job is the best solution to a career. Pick what you want to do in life and enjoy it.
Gary
Organizing, prioritizing and somtimes just saying "no" have worked of me. I am also a mother of two and wanted to keep everyone happy but learned that if I am not happy no one around me will be.
Prioritizing and organization is a big part of anyone's daily and weekly success for health, family and job. Your practices will definitley pay off in many ways.
I am also starting to finally realize the importance of organizing your day and week! I recently started working out 5 days a week only after organizing the time frame to do it. We always hear that there is no time to exercise because we are always too busy. I fell into the same trap. However, I have been exercising for two hours a day now and it has become habit and I seem to have more time to do other things. Plus, I have lost some weight and feel so much more energized. I have been incorporating meal planning, as well. It's amazing how it is becoming quite easy. The hardest part was getting it started!
Organization is important to reduce stress. We hope we all get beter at it as as we get older. Prioritizing your life keeps rings in perspective.
This used to cause me lots more stress when my children were small and needed me more. The way I handled it was to plan the week ahead. I made sure my work schedule fit into my home life so I didn't have any surprises or hurt feelings.
I feel I could work 24/7 and still have work to do, so I just have to stop and realize it will be there tomorrow.I am better at this balance as I have aged. I also try to stay on track at work and make a to do list, so I feel productive and successful for the day. That helps me get out at a reasonable time.
