Balancing Your Personal and Professional Life

Never make a decision based on fear. This sounds like sage advice to live by. But today office workers everywhere are afraid of losing their jobs, and this has made them vulnerable to forces that want them to work more hours for the same pay. Balancing one's personal life with their professional life has become more difficult than ever. Just ask your boyfriend what he thinks of your iPhone. Yes, that piece of technology that you always set next to your dinner plate in case your boss calls.

Most office workers accept that their jobs are taking up more and more of their time. They see the unemployment graphs on the nightly news. They celebrate having a Blackberry paid for by their employer, while quietly conceding their time away from the office back to the office. They increasingly think their identities are defined by their jobs. No wonder taking a day off to have a picnic in the park sounds like madness. Our professional lives have gone crazy. And this is the worst news: It's our fault.

As this article explains "Forget blaming your boss for bombarding you with 'urgent' emails after-hours or your co-workers for pestering you in your cubicle so that you never seem to get anything done during the workday. It’s up to you to set limits and expectations—not responding to every message after you leave the office; leaving work at 5:30 PM if you’re done, even if your colleagues choose to stay until 7 for appearance’s sake; or making sure to set practices (such as noise-canceling headsets) so you’re more productive during peak work times."

So overcome your fears and stick up for yourself by setting boundaries. After all, you are the boss of you, and being happy in life is your number one job.

Image courtesy of Ed Yourdon.