More work. Less time. Interruptions. Ambiguity. What can you do about it?

Relief is closer than you think and it all comes down to balancing priorities in and out of work. Since our work and life are interrelated, it's an integration of the two, not a separation. Both need to be worked simultaneously. Some look at this as "Work Life Allocation" versus a "Balance" as there will always be times when one may have increased demands over the other so prioritization is key.

First, reaching our goal must be managed with the inclusion of all components, paying careful attention to repercussions the decisions in one area, can make on another.

Second, the focus is not on perfect balance, specifically a 50-50 balance between work and life. The goal is to gather information , resources and ideas from others, to assist in recognizing the underlying obstacles that may interfere with or slow down reaching satisfaction and success.

"Balance, or whatever word you use, is just the result of other actions taken. Your focus should just be on self-awareness and the determination of what will lead to a fulfilled life and just work towards that, the results will follow."

Managing your time is a big part of all this, check out this article "30 Time Management Tips for Work-Life Balance" by Frances Booth. When my wife and I started a family, calls from the day care with a sick child happened all too often. I quickly learned that in order to keep my job and my new child (one would have to go :-)), I had to come up with a solution. I started a system where I processed my email each morning, built a  list of tasks either in Task Manager or on a separate spreadsheet, then I would sort the tasks from most important to least. I'd start cranking out the list, as I accomplished the most critical items (especially the ones I'd been putting off), my stress level would decrease and the ability for me to handle an interruption (either personal or work-related) in my schedule would increase. I still use this method today.