10 Life Changing Lessons – Nr. 6 - Work-Life Integration

“Successful Business Leaders” – what definition would you give to such a person? Which one of the following business owners do you consider to be successful?

Scenario 1 – James made his first million before age 30. His mission in life is to make a lot of money and retire at age 45. He then wants to spend the rest of his life travelling to new places.

Scenario 2 – Jarred, aged 45, works a 60 hour week. He leaves home for work every day at 5:30 am and returns at 20:00. The long hours are taking its toll. He hasn’t taken vacation for the last 5 years and even on weekends he spends time evaluating the past week and planning his schedule for the coming week.

Scenario 3 – Jim has a network of small businesses all over the country. He spends a lot of time travelling and being away from home. His second wife, Samantha, finds it difficult to cope with Jim being away so much. Jim has his kids every second weekend and relies on Samantha to plan the weekend’s entertainment with the kids.

Scenario 4 – John made his first million by age 30 and lost it by age 35. He also used to work 60+ hours a week and never saw his kids growing up. Now, at age 50, he decided it was time to take inventory of his life. He understands the importance of setting up his business as a multi-generational legacy that will benefit his grandchildren and even his great grandchildren.

The following words summarize the 4 scenarios – money, time, family and legacy. Success is a matter of focus. What is important? We live in a complex world where a cacophony of influences are constantly competing for your time. Relationships, time, money, training, health, society, politics, sport, diet, the environment and a million others demand your attention.

Thirty years ago psychologists used the term “balanced work-life”. Those were the days when you could close the office door and go home. You could play tennis or golf on a Saturday morning and go to church on Sunday. You could eat with family and take a nap in the afternoon. The modern digital era with integrated social media, apps and email on all your devices has changed things completely. Office is where you are. You have notifications distracting you in traffic, on your back-swing and even while listening to that all important sermon in church. Your wife and children find themselves in competition with your mobile phone at the dinner table. Work never stops…

With this complicated integration in mind, we rather speak of “work-life integration.”

So what’s next?

How do you integrate your different life activities? Make a list of your responsibilities or activities:

Example: Family, clubs, community, work, hobbies, friends, health, etc…

In order to keep these activities alive, some resources are needed. Each resource that is needed, is followed by a question that will help you to determine if you have a healthy work-life (holistic) integration.

1. Time – do I spend too much or too less time on a particular activity?

2. Energy – does it mentally drain or energize me when I am engaged in this activity?

3. Finances – have I made provision in my budget for this activity?

4. Relationships – what effect does this activity have on my relationships?

5. Experience – is this activity conducive to my personal development?

Successful business owners have developed the ability to integrate their work and life in such a way that their spouse, children, staff and friends enjoy having them around. You have the same resources and you can do the same.