Finding Work-Life Balance

Innumerable professionals struggle with the daily juggling of act related to balance between their work hours and their home life.  Far too often work trickles into the precious hours that are allocated to family, friends and loved ones.  In an era of hyper connectivity this challenge to find balance is even harder.

Is the solution to throw in the towel and hope that your kids understand your partial attention to their animated review of their day at school whilst you parse through your work email on that tiny 5" screen should be enough to validate them?  No!

Is it acceptable to hide your mobile in the bottom of your attaché and never attend to it outside of business hours?  For some, this is the only way they can truly enjoy their vacations and time off. 

There's no one set solution for how to balance all elements of work and personal lives - but it is a factor that a healthy business person should at least consider and put forth effort to find the mix right for him/her.  This mix has to be comfortable for the professional or it's a wasted effort.

Some will argue that as entrepreneurs they never really can leave the office behind, especially if they work from home - but, where there's a will there is a way.  The home office could be an area of a home that is set apart from common areas shared with the family, regular "office hours" could be set, mobile devices can be set aside and concerted effort made to focus on family during non "office hours." 

Again, everyone's thresh holds and benchmarks for balance will be different.  

It is a continuous process of relearning and refocusing on what matters most and then acting on that.  It is pertinent to understand what imbalance looks like and take the steps to find the mix that is best for you and yours.  

Balance today may not look like what it did last year, or even last week.  Find yours and understand its natural ebbs and flows - for your betterment, that of your family and your career.

Professional Me and You

I am an experienced and vetted Marketing Manager with a passion for relationship and brand building, by discovering what's important to and best for my customers and my company, and making it happen via traditional and emerging means.

Who are you? And, what do you do for a living?

Personal Branding 101

Hello, my name is .... and I ....

When you introduce yourself to a new contact or colleague - do you stand out? Is what you're sharing about you memorable? Have you personal brand? Of course you do!

Personal branding is what makes you uniquely you. It's all of you from your appearance to your opinions to your knowledge and expertise. A fraction of it is even includes what you do for a living. So what's a brand? A brand is often what distinguishes one product, service, or experience from the next in the business world. We're in an era where the professional, personal and social aspects of life are increasingly blended together.

Personal branding has long been a habit of politicians and celebrities for years - there's no reason why you cannot develop your own personal branding.

How does one define a personal brand?

• Define how you stand out from the crowd.
• Understand what your core competencies and abilities are.
• Map out the value proposition that you offer.
• Figure out what makes you compelling.
• Don't borrow someone else's brand - the best person to be, is you.

When you feel you've sufficiently mapped out this process - consider building a personal mission state and begin implementing the process with action.

• Clearly and consistently communicate those points across all platforms.
• Execute your consistent message via online and offline means.
• Look for opportunities to establish yourself as a thought leader.
• Find peers in field - learn and grow from their experiences. Be a mentee/protegee.
• Discover your circle of influence and consider offering yourself as a mentor.

Two final thoughts on the importance of your personal brand - say what you mean, mean what you say. Live it out, repeatedly.