Striking a Balance
How Taking Time Off Can Make You More Effective

By Monica Ricci of Catalyst Organizing Solutions

What do an entrepreneur, a healthy checking account, your diet and a tightrope walker have in common? They all need balance to be most effective! Balance is a word that you hear a lot about, but you may not know how to achieve it in your own life. Entrepreneurs, by their very nature, tend to focus on creating business, which means being immersed in work, sometimes to the detriment of health, family, and other aspects of life. It's easy to get out of balance and takes some effort to maintain it, once you've got it, but it's effort worth expending. Having a balanced life pays off in terms of profitability, professional effectiveness, physical health, and personal fulfillment.

If you're not sure how to tell, here are six clues that your life may be out of balance:

• You rarely eat meals with your spouse/family.
• You regularly work late into the night.
• You don't get as much accomplished as you'd like to at work.
• You wake up tired.
• You can't remember your last two days off in a row.
• You feel out of shape and/or sluggish much of the time.
• You feel burned out or depressed.

If this sounds like you, it's time to sharpen that saw. Stephen Covey's 7th and last Habit of Highly Effective People® is "Sharpen The Saw". He says it is the last habit because it is the one habit that when we practice it, allows us to continue to practice the other six. It's a circle. Sharpening the saw entails identifying the areas of your life that you are neglecting and regularly giving them time and energy, so you can recharge your batteries and can be more effective in all the areas of your life.

If you're wondering how in the world you'll ever fit in one more thing... there's your answer. Don't. Force yourself to take time away from unimportant "busywork" and use it for doing other things such as exercise, church, meditation, art, music, socializing, or taking a class. You will find that as you regularly feed the other areas of yourself, you'll be more fulfilled and more effective at work because you are functioning as a whole person instead of just a worker bee.

Remember, you're the engine of your life, and every engine needs fuel and maintenance in order to work properly. Don't make the mistake of letting your engine fall into disrepair! Take time to sharpen your saw and success and fulfillment will follow.

Monica Ricci has been an organizing and productivity specialist since 1999. She offers onsite consulting, as well as motivational seminars and workshops. She has been featured on HGTV's Mission:Organization and is the author of Organize Your Office In No Time. Reach Monica at www.CatalystOrganizing.com or 770-569-2642.