While I was on my morning run a few months ago, the inspiration for this month’s column played through my earbuds. As Kenny Chesney was singing “Don’t Blink,” I began thinking about the lyrics and the real reason why we work.
Now, most columns or articles in a publication like this cover ways to be more productive in your chosen field, but not this column. This column covers the importance of a work–life balance and different ways to shift your balance a little more to the life side of the equation.
We work hard and strive to be better, but in today’s digitally connected world, it’s too easy to become consumed by our jobs and ignore our personal time. The reality is that you work to live, not live to work. And, if you’re not careful, you could suffer the same fate as Chesney in his song. So, heed his advice: “Best start putting first things first, cause when your hourglass runs out of sand you can’t flip it over and start again.”
With that profound message in mind and to help you keep a healthy work–life balance, consider these three tips:
Keep a Task List
Organizational skills will make or break a career in sales. Develop a task list and use it religiously. This not only will help you stay on top of your sales responsibilities, it will also help give you peace of mind. At the end of a long day of work, you’ll be able to better engage in your personal time if you know that things at work are handled.
Unplug
This can be very challenging in today’s high-paced, instant-communication world. I often hear from salespeople that their customers can reach them 24/7, anytime day or night. That’s a mistake. Everybody needs some downtime to rest, relax, and engage in a personal life. This benefits both you and the important people in your life who need your time and attention. So use voicemail as a tool and let all calls go there after a certain time each evening. Occasionally, customer emergencies will arise and those need to be handled expeditiously, but, by and large, a customer call in the evening going to voicemail is not a big deal.
Use Time Off to Recharge
A recent study by career website Glassdoor indicates that two out of three employees in the United States will work while on vacation. You’ve earned your vacation time and should make an effort to leave work behind while taking any time off.
This is a tough one for me. Like many of you, my email inbox can get flooded over a week if emails aren’t handled periodically. A compromise I now implement on our family vacations is devoting two hours halfway through the week when I’ll tidy up my inbox. I’ll also leave my phone in the room while at the pool or beach, and it’s nice to just relax and spend time with the family. You’ll remember the memories of vacations much more than a full inbox later in life, for sure.
I don’t care how successful you become or how much money you make; when you get home in the evening, if things aren’t right on the other side of that door, then things aren’t right, period. I’ve walked through several cemeteries in my life and I’ve never seen a tombstone that read, “Worked Very Hard,” or, “Made a Lot of Money.” What they say is, “Beloved Father/Mother,” “Loving Husband/Wife,” etcetera.
Your work is very important and should be treated as such, but never lose sight of why you go to work every day. Keeping that in mind will help you maintain a healthy work–life balance.
