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Tip 17 Work-Life Balance - How to Put Friends Back Into Your Life (Part 2)

Guest post by: Sheryl Nicholson

Article Overview: Hopefully you have read Part one of this article and picked up 2 ways to put friends back into your life. Now we have 2 more strategies. Divide the Town and the Year The most powerful solution I've found I'll share first. I've divided our city, Tampa, into 4 quadrants, N, S, E, and West. I've also divided my calendar up into quadrants, January, April, July, and October. Then I combine those two. Here are the rules: First: Invite 5 couples (or 10 people) from the north side of town. Why? More than 10 and the restaurant will hate you and the mess you bring...plus at least 2 people won't show so your crowd should be the perfect size. Second: Do this on a weekday. Why? Because weekends should be sacred for family time. Third: Make sure you create this outing immediately after work. Why? You know why. If someone goes home fir

Tip 17 Work-Life Balance - How to Put Friends Back Into Your Life (Part 2)

Hopefully you have read Part one of this article and picked up 2 ways to put friends back into your life. Now we have 2 more strategies.

Divide the Town and the Year



The most powerful solution I've found I'll share first. I've divided our city, Tampa, into 4 quadrants, N, S, E, and West. I've also divided my calendar up into quadrants, January, April, July, and October. Then I combine those two. Here are the rules:

First: Invite 5 couples (or 10 people) from the north side of town. Why? More than 10 and the restaurant will hate you and the mess you bring...plus at least 2 people won't show so your crowd should be the perfect size.

Second: Do this on a weekday. Why? Because weekends should be sacred for family time.

Third: Make sure you create this outing immediately after work. Why? You know why. If someone goes home first, inevitably something happens at home and some of the people won't show. The dog got out and ate the trash, the kids have homework, the house is dirty, whatever. I've found most people have been in a situation when they had to work late and do have an emergency back up system in place to get their kids picked up from day care, taken home and provided for.

Fourth: Find a restaurant with something attached...a comedy club, jazz club, or something. If not attached, at least within walking distance. Why? What do you suppose happens with your caravan as each of us follows the other to the second location? Conversation will be overheard like "gee Honey, I'm tired, let's go home". But with the two places connected, those who want to go home will, and those who want to stay and party can.

Now if I invited you with a group of 9 others to a restaurant for dinner would you think I was picking up the tab? Of course not. So everyone gets to order whatever they want, drink how much they want, and it's all on separate checks, This turns out to be less expensive that if I had had you over for beanie weanies! And I don't have the mess!

There has been a surprising benefit out of this endeavor. My friends found that I know a lot of neat, cool, people that they like also. This has enlarged their own circle of friends

Friends at Work

How can you put friends into your work schedule?

One suggestion is to carry some stationary or notepads and write a note or letter to your friends during your coffee breaks or lunch. When I travel for business, I'm always picking up different types of postcards and I send them after I get home. It's kind of fun because they are totally confused that I'm in town but sending a card from out of state.

Why not leave voice messages just to et them know you were thinking of them. I know full well they're at work, don't want to bother them there, so I purposely call at their home and leave a message. It's a nice way to welcome someone as they walk in the door to check their messages.

One woman I met on a plane shared this technique to let her loved one know she's thinking of him without bothering him. He's a new physician that carries a beeper. That beeper denoted emergencies, lab tests in, anything that meant jump up and run somewhere. She instead types in the number 247 to him. As he checks, that's his code to know she thought of him and loves him 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Ahhhh, young love.

I also know a mother who types in 07734 on her child's beeper. When you turn the beeper upside down those letters read "hello" and that's his signal that she loves him and it'a time to come home.

You could also ask your friends to meet you for lunch.

I have a friend who carries a laptop in his business and he emails his friends during his lunch hour.

So you see there's lots of creative ways to remain in touch with those people that bring you joy. Make the effort today at work or at home. There are no more excuses.

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Article Tags: dinner party, friends, life balance, sheryl nicholson, worklife balance



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