At one of our events on how to achieve work-life balance, acclaimed life coach Samantha Collins shared her ideas for achieving a balance.   

Time management

• Focus on outcomes – ‘What do I want to happen?’ instead of ‘What do I have to do?’
• Don’t do everything – 20% of your actions get 80% of your results
• Schedule preparation and planning time into your diary to avoid ‘overwhelm’
• Take time before you say yes or no to a new project, and have clear decision criteria
• Schedule pockets of ‘open time’ in your diary – spare time to allow for the unexpected
• Take time out to weed your commitments on a regular basis. If you take on a commitment which you don’t do properly, the time spent on it is wasted
• Create a ‘not to do’ list and tick things off when you don’t do them
• Deal with emails at only two set points in the day – mid-morning and mid-afternoon

Find a buddy or mentor

Once you’ve decided that you want to make a change, find a buddy to share your goals with – perhaps someone who also wants to achieve a better work-life balance. Mentor each other and follow up to see whether you’ve each done what you agreed to do. If you haven’t, discuss why not.

• More about executive mentoring and coaching