Achieving Work-Life Balance
MU's Extension Web Site offers a number of helpful resources that address work-life balance, including the handout Challenges and Choices: Stress Management -- The Challenge of Balance.
Advice adapted from: Gmelch, W. H. (1993). Coping with Faculty Stress. Newbury Park: Sage.
- Identify your stress traps. While you may not be able to avoid them all together, being aware of what triggers stress may help you strategize ways to keep it minimal.
- After a particularly stressful meeting or event, take a few minutes to relax before tackling the next item on your to-do list.
- Keep your personal goals in mind as you consider professional career. Remember that your personal and professional commitments must co-exist. Both are vying for the same resources. Know what you are giving up on both sides.
- The clearer the distinction and separation between personal and professional goals-the fewer the potential conflicts between their trade-offs.
In attempting to achieve work-life balance, it is important that you maintain time for yourself. Try these activities to balance your work life:
- Social support: Make a date for lunch with colleagues or a mentor, chat with a friend or loved one.
- Physical activity: Make time for walks or jogs, take a dance class, or try a new sport.
- Entertainment: Take a weekend trip, go see a new film, attend a concert, or dine out.
- Personal Interest: Indulge yourself in your favorite hobby. If you don't have a hobby, try something that you have always wanted to do.
- Self-Management: Learn techniques to manage your time more effectively, deal with conflict, develop personal philosophies and set goals.
Other resources: