---

Guest post by: Julie Fleming-Brown Become an Author

Tweet

---

---

One of the challenges in creating work/life balance lies in the fact that it doesn't just happen. It must be created. And, once created, it must be protected. Zealously.

One of the fastest routes to balance is to block out some time for yourself every single week. Aim for at least an hour two or three times a week, but everyone has a personal minimum that needs to be maintained. What's this personal time for? Anything other than work. Remember that gym membership? This is when you can actually use it. Or get a massage, visit a museum, browse the bookstore, or have lunch with a friend. This is [a part of] the time that will make you a well-rounded, interesting human being rather than a worker-bee "human doing."

The tricky part lies in protecting this time. So often, we make commitments to ourselves and break them when something else comes up. The key to getting the benefit of these self-appointments is to regard them as being as important as an appointment you make with someone else. Yes, sometimes you will have to cancel them. But if you find yourself canceling on more than a rare occasion, you aren't really making an appointment; rather, you're making a plan that will fold if anything better comes up, or if someone else asks you to do something work-related. Getting the benefit requires making the commitment.

Pull out your calendar, your PDA, whatever you use to keep track of your time and schedule some time for yourself. RIGHT NOW. Waiting until you know what demands may be coming your way won't make it easier to do, it'll make it less likely. Although spending time away from your work-related commitments may feel strange in the beginning, commit to trying it for six weeks and see what happens. There's every likelihood that you'll feel more relaxed and find renewed energy for your work.

Related Articles

  Human and Physical Capital: The Effects of Human Capital on Economic Development
  Introduction: Human Capital and Economic Development
  Is Capitalism, as Seen by Enterpreneuers now, Good or Bad?
  Social Media Principle 1 – People Not Consumers
  Human Resources Software
  Human Resources Manager
  Questions Posed: HUMAN CAPITAL FORMATION AND FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
  Blogging: “Are you Human”?
  Human Resources Degree
  Preface: HUMAN CAPITAL FORMATION AND FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
  A Beginner’s Guide to HR Outsourcing for Small Business Owners
  10 Critical Factors to Consider Before Engaging in HR Outsourcing
  Human Resources Outsourcing
  How to Write Job Advertisements for Human Resources Manager
  Human Resource Management
  HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT AND ATTRACTING INWARD FDI
  Human Resources Career
  The Brain That Changes Itself
  Capitalism is Interpreted too Narrowly
  The 7 Universal Laws of Learning

Related Forum Posts

HRPreneur
Re: Make Friends...Literally BUILD them!
New topics
New Small Business Topic
Re: Make Friends...Literally BUILD them!

Share this article. Fund someone's dream.

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

Should You Hire Family Members?

Using Internet Marketing For Your Success

The Unsung Business Tool: Public Speaking

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.