3 ways to balance our home work lives

By Brian Maynor

 

After working long hours, most of us long for time at home to just unplug and recharge, but rarely is that the case.

What normally awaits us at home is a laundry list of chores, often including laundry, bills to pay, friends to connect with and errands to run, which can make our time there anything but relaxing and rejuvenating.

In fact, our time at home can feel just as stressful, chaotic and frustrating as our time at work, or even more so.  Whitney Johnson, an executive coach, recently explored this situation in her newsletter, and found not only did a lot of people share this dilemma.  They also felt their work life actually ran smoother than their home one.  This got her thinking about how to use professional tips to improve the quality of home life, and the results were quite eye opening.

Here are three professional tools Whitney found to be equally effective at home as they are at work:

1.   Planning and Scheduling. At work everything seems to revolve around our calendars, so much so that at times they seem to manage us instead of the other way around.  Everything we need to do gets penciled in, rearranged, and most importantly planned and accounted for including time for the unexpected.  It’s a necessary habit in a hectic environment to make sure we use our time effectively and efficiently, but it doesn’t matter if that hectic environment is our office or home.  The same principles of accountability and efficiency apply, so instead of feeling overwhelmed by everything there is to do at home we should try creating a plan and schedule to accomplish them.  That way we have set deadlines and can prioritize each chore to ensure they all get done with time left over for relaxing.

2.    Thoughtful Decision-making. At work, big decisions tend to be made after input is collected from others, whether it’s our team, a few close colleagues or just our boss.  The point is we gather information, viewpoints and ideas from other people before making the final decision.  That rarely happens at home.  If there are other people in the household, it would be beneficial to include them in the decision-making process by giving them a voice.  That doesn’t mean making a decision by consensus, but it does let us collect insights and information from a different viewpoint.  Just like junior employees, children often have valuable input we just wouldn’t see.

3.    Putting People First. When we’re meeting with someone professionally, be it a client, a colleague or our boss we give them our full attention.  The thought of half-listening to them while we read emails or play on our phone is laughable, but most of the time that is exactly what we do to the people at home.  Shouldn’t the people at home matter just as much, if not more, than the people at work?  When we put other people first and engage them with our undivided attention, there is no question the quality of the connection is better, but we also feel better about it.  Not even video-calls give us that same level of satisfaction.

 

Work is called a full-time job for a reason, which means it can be hard to balance with our other full-time job, our home lives.  Fortunately there are ways to achieve it and surprisingly the best tools apply to both work and home.

 

 

 

I’m always excited to hear from you, so please email your questions, quandaries and conundrums to [email protected].

 

About Brian Maynor

Brian Maynor has built a reputation as one of the leading style coaches in the Southeast and is quickly expanding his eponymous company, BRIAN MAYNOR and his FIND, FLATTER & FLAUNT line of image consulting services. A professional with a fresh, upbeat and down-to-earth personality and boundless creative energy, he works frequently with with local celebrities; Fortune 500 companies and nonprofit organizations; modeling agencies; fashion designers; production companies; record labels; media and individuals. A regular contributor to various fashion blogs and online communities, Brian Maynor is one of the most trusted and recognized style experts in the region, utilizing his education and training as a broadcast journalist to serve as a style lecturer, emcee, and commentator for over a decade. He has appeared at fashion shows, expos, and charity fundraisers, as well as events with big brands like Banana Republic, Ann Taylor, Chico’s and Macy’s. His approach is innovative, creative and fashion-forward, balancing fresh, modern styles with classic pieces to keep one’s look grounded. To learn more, visit http://www.brianmaynor.com.

 

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