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. 

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Hire

They can talk the talk, but can they walk the walk? There's a handful of candidate types; the person who can talk their way into a job, but may not meet the job requirements, the person who's a little more reserved and not comfortable with boasting, but could be a rock star. Then there's a wide range of combinations. Have you ever hired a great candidate for the job, but when they arrive, it's as if they're not the same person?
 

How the candidate performs within the workplace and reacts to interpersonal dynamics, is key to the hiring decision. These two conditions can make or break even the best candidate (on paper).

A combination of interview and on-the-job assessment will increase the likelihood of a good match. See how the candidate does, how they interact with the team and how they manage within the environment. Solid performance can be affected by the  environment - the only way to test this is to see how they do, how they interact. As a bonus, if the candidate is willing to contract for six months, it gives both parties time to really assess and know that they've made the right decision.

Connecting Tweets to Tell a Story and Build Community

While many companies are only connected with customers 'online', Starbucks is in a unique position to have connections 'offline' in the community of coffee shops (the "third place") and online.

Virtual interaction is bringing the Starbucks in-store experience online. As outlined in the story by Jeff Bullas, a report was conducted by Altimeter which identified four key elements crucial for online engagement between Starbucks and their customer base. First, success requires contact with customers through consistently updated engagements within blogs or Facebook. Second, interaction by multiple contacts and levels within an organization brings a wider customer reach.
Third, targeting what your industry and customer is looking for in an online experience and fourth, focus on key areas that work, don't spread yourself too thin.

The offline experience at Starbucks holds new opportunities in addition to the established retail outlets. Is it time to take it to the streets with mobile coffee options? With the recent emergence of food trucks, why not mobile coffee trucks or boats for that matter? This is the opportunity to blend directly into communities where needed, making market adjustments simply by going down a different street.

Howard Schultz is changing the face of how corporations think about social responsibility. He's taking charge with the Create jobs for USA fund, helping American's get back to work. Jobs need to be created and can be done through innovative approaches both online and offline.

Who knows, mobile coffee options could just be the answer that Starbucks customer, Kristen
Chase is looking for when she asks: "Why hasn't Starbucks invented delivery yet?

This story inspired by Tweets from @jeffbullas, @amberdaviseyes, @cnnsotu, and @thatkristen

To Be Heard

If you are looking for inspiration as you define your future, then make a point to watch To Be Heard, the story of three teens from the South Bronx struggling to change their lives through writing and performing poetry, using this creativity to change their circumstances.

The film opens with the quote:

"If you don't learn to write your own life story, someone else will write it for you."
This is the truth. We are each responsible for our own destiny. We have the power to make changes and if we choose not to make these changes, we at least have the power to control how we react to our circumstances. I found parallels to my own life while watching this film - it applies to all of us.

You can watch the trailer at http://www.tobeheard.org/

Join the Zero Email Journey

CEO Thierry Breton of Atos, a French information technology company is preparing his company for a future of no internal email. In this day of constant email communication, seems impossible, right? Certainly not, it's as possible as the introduction of email a couple of decades ago.

This eradication of email is a response to the massive amounts of data we are accumulating. According to Atos, it is estimated that managers spend between 5 and 20 hours a week just reading and writing emails. In addition to processing email, middle managers spend more than 25 percent of their time searching for information.

Email at Atos is being replaced by improved communication applications as well as new collaboration and social media tools, with an emphasis on social business solutions. This is a response to the fact that online social networking is now more popular than email and search, plus future generations are choosing alternative methods to communicate.

For expanded details, check out the original ABC News article and the Atos site for Smart Organization and the Zero Email blog. Keep tabs on this company as they are leading us into a more effective way to communicate and collect/retrieve information.

Connecting the Community

Each time we log onto Facebook or any social networking site, we are observing the value of people through vast amounts of information, interactions, and especially pictures. Pictures of family, friends, interests, etc. We can associate even a stranger as a whole person who lives a full life; involved, giving, friendly, interested, loved. In fact, increased compassion and understanding for humanity is being created by Facebook and other social networking sites.

To illustrate, we recently had a tragedy in our local community where a fellow soccer coach died suddenly on the soccer field while coaching his young team. News of this tragedy spread immediately through texts, and posts on the community blog. Once the name of the individual was released, I was prompted to go out to Facebook, search, and see for myself who this individual was. What I found was a complete person, not just an anonymous stranger. This immediate connection to a member of my community was made specifically through the power of social networking. Pictures of this wife and family, daily interactions, vacations, interests, accomplishments, connections to local community, an online legacy. This person in a sense was no longer a stranger, but brought a greater sense of compassion for what his family and friends were going through with this terrible loss.

If I can be left with a sense of connection to a perfect stranger through small bits of information, how would this increased visibility effect those who I interact with every day. How could understanding someone's interests, and especially values, help with collaboratively accomplishing great things in the work place or community. Is social networking enriching our sense of humanity?

You are Just as Powerful

When I saw the Dalai Lama in Seattle at Seeds of Compassion in 2008, what struck me as quite astonishing is when he said, "I want to introduce myself to you as just a human being, you and I are the same" I thought huh? How's this possible, he's the Dalai Lama, why am I here? It got me thinking about the difference between an average citizen who has something to say and someone 'established within the public network' who has something to say.

With close to 7 billion people in the world, the ratio of public figures, political, governmental, and through pop culture is miniscule. Why then do we put so much stake in people who have made a lifestyle out of being in the public eye? In fact, when you dissect the list of public figures down to those with legitimacy, the percentage is infinitesimal.

I often joke that I'm going to market little dolls with the likeness of my daughter Dorothy, why not? Barbie isn't even modeled after a real person, and look at her success.

If you are hesitating to share your thoughts, ideas and goals, remind yourself of the small population we listen to on a daily basis (whether we like it or not). Go ahead, create your platform and speak, be known, this world needs more people like you. There's really not much competition.