|
There must be more to
life than having everything.
-Maurice Sendak
"A means of
judging or deciding. Mental and emotional steadiness. To bring to a
state or position of equipoise. To bring into harmony or
proportion." Webster,
1995
On a scale from 1 to 5,
please rate how each question describes you.
1
2
3
4
5
Not at
all
Hey, this is me
| _____ |
1. I have difficulty saying
no to low priority requests. |
| _____ |
2. I continually run out of
time before everything I want to do is done. |
| _____ |
3. I miss out on time with
family/friends due to the demands of my job. |
| _____ |
4. I am so committed to
fulfilling other's expectations that I'm feeling overwhelmed. |
| _____ |
5. I inconvenience others
because I am so busy. |
Sound familiar? Did you
score high numbers on the quiz above? If so, you probably already know
that you have difficulty creating balance in your life! To help focus on
gaining balance, check out a few of the references noted below...
 |
"If
someone else drops the ball, do you really have to pick it up?"
(Mackenzie) |
|
It's
important to remember that you always have a choice to say no to avoid
overload. |
|
You can't
do everything perfectly. Choose carefully, some things aren't worth
the extra effort. |
|
Life is
short, choose wisely. |
 |
Others'
work is theirs not yours, avoid the urge to step in and finish the job
when it is not getting done. |
|
Make a
list of things that are important to you, and treat them with
priority. |
|
Practice
saying no to low-priority or inappropriate requests. |
|
Be
realistic about the time needed to accomplish tasks. |
|
Try using
one calendar to schedule work, personal, and family time. |
|
Set
priorities; without them everything seems important.
|
For additional information about
balancing work/life, check out the OSU
Leadership Center website.
Some resources we recommend are:
The
80/20 Principle: The Secret of Achieving More with Less
Richard Koch. Currency Publishing
Company, 1998
Includes:
 |
Time
revolution, p. 145
|
The Procrastinator’s Handbook
Rita Emmett. Walker & Co., 2000
Includes:
|
'Just Say
No' quotes, p. 62 |
|
Information
on setting
limits and quotes, pp. 106-109
|
The Time Trap
Alec
Mackenzie. AMACOM, 1990.
Includes:
|
Workaholic Quiz,
p. 17 |
|
Doing
Too Much
pointers/hints, p.92 |
|
Doing Too Much quiz,
p. 93 |
If you
would like to borrow these or other resources from the OSU Leadership Center,
please click on the logo
 Home
 Making
Decisions  Dealing
with Interruptions  Organizing
Setting
Priorities Managing
Procrastination
|
Creating Balance
