Moving the Needle: Get Clear, Get Free, and Get Going in Your Career, Business, and Life!

Chapter 2Life Balance and the Life Decision Wheels

A true balance between work and life comes with knowing that your life activities are integrated, not separated.

—MICHAEL THOMAS SUNNARBORG, author of 21 Keys to Work/Life Balance: Unlock Your Full Potential

When I talk about getting clear to audiences, I often see a forlorn expression on people's faces:

Joe, you don't know how overwhelmed I am.

It's a juggling act when it comes to managing a career, having an active social life, spending time with family and friends, and staying healthy. How can any of us get it all done?

Many can't. Balancing work and life was a clear problem for 89 percent of respondents to a survey conducted by StrategyOne, a global market research firm. Of 613 respondents, 54 percent identified it as a significant issue in their lives. With our roles in the workplace expanding, time with the family or significant others takes the brunt of the hit, followed by personal downtime. People are expected to be always on. Not only do technology advances make us more available, but reducing the size of the workforce also places even more pressure on employees. Many would say that technology has created the endless workday.

I liken the feat of achieving balance across the various demands most of us face to a famous segment from The Ed Sullivan Show. The performer's name was Erich Brenn, and he used to spin dinner ...