Coaching, Mentoring & Stress Management

Liz Makin provides personalised coaching, mentoring and stress management services to business owners, directors, managers and professionals.

Are you running a business and need someone:
- To bounce ideas off?
- To point you in the right direction?
- To help you focus on the most important issues?
- To be your confidential sounding board?
- To support and motivate you through the stressful and challenging times?
- To help you to achieve your business goals?

Are you finding it difficult to cope with high levels of stress in your life?

Liz Makin can help you with all this and more. Liz is an accredited business mentor, coach and stress consultant and is based in Stamford, Lincolnshire.

For more information please refer to the Makin It Happen – Coaching, Mentoring & Stress Management website at http://makinithappen.co.uk or contact Liz Makin at Liz@makinithappen.co.uk.

To sign up for the Makin It Happen - Coaching, Mentoring & Stress Management email newsletter please click here to Sign up for our email newsletter. Previous articles from the newsletter can be found on this blog.

Work Life Balance

The term work life balance means different things to different people. Work life balance is about achieving a balance that works for you and your family. If you can get the balance 'right' between the different areas of your life then you will feel happier and have a more enjoyable life.

We live in a society where there is increasing pressure on our time. It is not easy to achieve the work life balance that we desire.

If you feel that your work life balance needs changing, here are some tips that may help you:

Where are you now? Identify what you are unhappy about with your current work life balance.

Where do you want to be? Think about where you want to be. What would be different to how it is now?

What do you need to do? What actions do you need to take to get to where you want to be?

Take charge of your life. Have a prioritised list of what you need to do, focus on the key priorities and let things drop off the list that aren't important. Review and re-prioritise regularly.

Slow down. Notice things around you. Enjoy the moment, your experiences and the people you interact with. Don't make plans for every minute of every day.

Take a break. Take regular breaks. Build in time for lunch breaks, holidays, leisure activities and family time.

Manage your time. Set realistic goals and deadlines and stick to them. Schedule in all your actions. Prioritise and re-prioritise when things change.

Don't allow interruptions. Block out time for you not to be interrupted. Schedule in time for emails and phone calls.

Stop work on time. Set times each day for finishing work and stick to them. Maybe finish early some days.

Share the load. Don't do everything yourself. Delegate at work or use outside suppliers to support you. Ask your family to help at home or pay someone to help you.

Simplify and let things go. Review and simplify your work processes. Get rid of clutter at home. Say no to things that don't fit in with your goals and objectives. Let things go that aren't important.

Manage stress. Take actions to manage stress.

Don't forget your family and friends. Allow time to spend with your family and friends.

Relax. Build relaxation time into your day.

Be positive. Celebrate successes and don't dwell on things that have not gone so well. Develop a positive outlook on life.

Look after yourself. Take regular exercise, eat healthily and make sure you have enough sleep.

Set boundaries. Separate your work and home life. Set boundaries so your work does not encroach into your home life and vice versa.

Our previous newsletter articles on procrastination, time management, stress and what's next may also be helpful in achieving work life balance. These can be found on this blog.

If you would like support in achieving work life balance please refer to the Makin It Happen – Coaching, Mentoring & Stress Management website at http://makinithappen.co.uk or contact Liz Makin at Liz@makinithappen.co.uk.

This article first appeared in the November 2007 edition of the Makin It Happen - Coaching, Mentoring & Stress Management newsletter. Please click here to Sign up for our email newsletter.