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Losing your balance

It's so easy to get sucked in to working harder and harder and convincing ourselves that this is a good thing. That we are contributing to our family, to our business, to the world. But we can't contribute fully if we are exhausted, stressed out and run down.

In this ever-connected world, actually escaping from work is getting to be more and more difficult. It takes real self-discipline to not check the emails just before going to bed. And then once you've checked them it only takes a few minutes to reply. Except by then your brain is back in work mode and sleeping is going to be a real challenge.

Holidays used to be a time when you were beyond the reach of a phone, the papers were in a foreign language and the only TV was in the cafe. No internet, no Blackberries, no emails. Now, even when we are supposed to be away from work the office is only a click away.

The reality is that making time for ourselves outside work is as much part of doing a good job as sitting down at the desk and working. We owe it to ourselves and our career to rest and relax and have fun so we can be as full of energy and creative as possible when we are in work. If you want to perform at your best at work you have to learn to rest and play at the same level of intensity.

So here are some ideas about how to regain your balance:

1. Have a work mobile and a personal one. Switch your work phone off when you're not working. If it's truly urgent they will find you.

2. Learn to delegate. Empower the people in your team to take decisions by themselves, without always referring to you.

3. Limit your time at work. Set a timetable and stick to it. Work will always expand to fit the time available.

4. When you are at work be 100 per cent present. Don't waste time, focus on what needs to be done and be as efficient as possible.

5. Have a place for work and don't let it escape from that place. This is especially important if you work from home a lot. Learn to shut the door on your home office.

6. Set very specific goals and to-do lists for work. If you know where you are and that you are on track you will be less tempted to work when you don't need to.

7. Accept that there are slow times at work and enjoy them. Things will be quieter during the summer, during Ramadan, during Christmas. Don't stress about it. Prepare for it and enjoy it.

8. When your work is finished, leave. Don't stay late at the office just to impress people. If your boss is impressed, find a better boss.

9. Plan your leisure time. Do not start the weekend wondering what to do. By the time you figure it out it will be Saturday evening.

10. Involve your family and friends so they help keep you on track.

11. Put as much energy into play as you do into work.

12. Develop interests outside work that enthrall you and take up all your focus.

13. Take the time to really rest deeply. You will be more effective the next day and achieve more.

14. When you are away from work really be away. Don't have half your mind on what you could/should be doing.

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