Work-Life Balance: How to Get a Life and Do Your Job

(page 2 of 2)

Browse Issues

Browse the BusinessWeek Archive

Related Items

• Work-Life Balance Blog
• Work-Life Balance: It's Never Too Late

Harris and his wife attribute all their quality time to "strategic planning" Matthew Mahon

Story Tools

• post a comment
• e-mail this story
• print this story
• order a reprint
• suggest a story
• digg this
• save to del.icio.us

In the summer, we are able to pick up our daughters, ages 3 and 6, from day care and spend over three hours swimming in the lake and having a picnic before we give them their baths and read them their bedtime stories. We get the kids to bed by 8:30 p.m. and still have an hour of quality time to spend together every night before going to sleep.

Oliver Tabamo, senior systems administrator, NBC/Universal Music Group, Alhambra, Calif.
Last year I got married and started a new job as an IT consultant with the benefit of working from home. Armed with a laptop and BlackBerry, I would sometimes work well past 11 p.m. and on most weekends. Needless to say, my wife really hated it. It was as if I was trying to prove myself more to my employer than I was to my wife. It wasn't the best way to start off a new marriage. I gained about 30 lbs., and I started to question if the income I was earning was worth the sacrifice.

Fast-forward a year, and now I'm still an IT consultant for a different company. My hours are regulated to 40 a week. BlackBerry e-mails after 6 p.m. don't get read until the train ride the following day, and I was able to shed the extra pounds by riding my bike, running, playing golf, and playing tennis with my wife. As for my marriage...we're planning on starting a family.

Sarah Sherman, managing director, Hoffman Europe, London
I learned that you can learn to completely control how you react to negative people and situations. Most people don't realize it, but they create their own stress.

Christopher Wong, Radiologist, Sydney, Australia
"Work is a means of living, it is not life itself," said Mahatma Gandhi.

I quit a stressful job (that I was good at) in a prestigious institution to work fewer hours in a less glamorous environment, spending more time with family and friends. I have no regrets.

Hursh Chetan, technical consultant, Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), New Delhi
I lived and worked in the Mideast as well as in India. After working for almost 15 years in very competitive IT companies and in very high-growth markets, I realized that the magic is when you learn how to manage the stress.

Just switch off the e-mail and the BlackBerry and the mind from the office. Focus on the simple things of life—rain, wind, new flowers, green grass, simple food, family visits, a stroll in the garden. There are no sudden things that will change your life for the better. It is the accumulation of beautiful small things.

Return to the Business @ Work Table of Contents