You Cannot Control Much - Breathing Space Blog

A reader comments; “I could be more responsible regarding use of my time but certainly there are some things that are out of my control...”

Yes, for one thing your productive work life is finite. You will only be able to work for so many years at such and such a pace. One day that will no longer be possible. The big absolute, of course, is that life is finite and death is guaranteed, so far. If you are in your thirties, you have about 12,000 to 14,000 days and that's it.

Day to day, change is out of your control – it is guaranteed that how you used to do it or what worked yesterday will have less and less value with each passing day. You certainly want some stability in your life particularly in the areas of values and relationships, but don't fear change or close yourself off to it.

116 Years Ago: A Simpler Time? - Breathing Space Blog

Here's a peak at the World in 1904:

* The tallest structure in the world is the Eiffel Tower!

* The average wage is .22/hr. The average worker earns between $200 and $400 per year. A competent accountant could expect to earn $2000 per year, a dentist $2,500 per year, a veterinarian between $1,500 and $ 4,000 per year. A mechanical engineer about $5,000 per year.

* More than 95 percent of all births in the U.S. took place at home. Ninety percent of all U.S. physicians had no college education. Instead, they attended medical schools, many of which were condemned in the press and by the government as "substandard."

* Sugar cost four cents a pound. Eggs were fourteen cents a dozen. Coffee was fifteen cents a pound.
Most women only washed their hair once a month, and used borax or egg yolks for shampoo.

* And, about our neighbors to the north: Canada passed a law prohibiting poor people from entering the country for any reason.

Times Have Changed! - Breathing Space Blog

In 1904:

* The average life expectancy is 47 years.

* 14% of homes have a bathtub.

* 8% of homes have a telephone.

* A three-minute call from Denver to New York cost $11.

* There are 8,000 cars in the U.S. and 144 miles of paved roads.

* The maximum speed limit in most cities is 10 miles per hour.

* With 1.4 million residents, California is the 21st most populous state.

* Alabama, Mississippi, Iowa, and Tennessee are each more heavily populated than California.

Okay, all the above seem archaic. Would you trade it, however, for a slower simpler life?

Stay Fresh and Vibrant - Breathing Space Blog

I know people who will take courses on topics completely out of their field, who try new dishes at restaurants, and who strive to keep themselves open to new ideas. You can do all kinds of new and different activities in your personal life that will serve to stimulate your creativity at work, to help you break free of attachment, and to help you overcome the inertia of immobility when you want to get things done.

Here are a few ideas:

At work:
* Take a planned 15-minute break twice daily
* Eat away from your desk
* Brainstorm with people not in your department
* Furnish your workspace with plants, pictures, or art that inspires you
* Learn some aspect of the organization that is completely foreign to you

Away from work:
* Change your magazine subscriptions
* Read a literary novel or epic
* Dress differently for different occasions
* Relax on your porch
* Install a hammock in your backyard

In general, to develop your awareness:
* Take an impromptu weekend trip to someplace you haven't visited
* Enroll in a course
* Join a book discussion group
* Volunteer at a charity
* Take up a new sport

Work-Life Balance - Breathing Space Blog

Work-Life Balance: The Prevailing Issue of Our Times
                                  by Jeff Davidson

For several years now, those who apparently have no idea what work-life balance is and have virtually never experienced it are proclaiming that it is passé, in favor of work-life harmony, or work-life integration.

The truth is, these terms all mean approximately the same things. You can split hairs anyway you want, and I suppose that's a good way to differentiate a program if you're seeking to offer one to clients, but the reality is work-life balance is the overarching issue of our time that all career professionals strive to achieve.

As The Work-life Balance Expert®,® I define work-life balance as the ability to experience a sense of control and to stay productive and competitive at work while maintaining a happy, healthy home-life with sufficient leisure. It is attaining focus and awareness despite seemingly endless tasks and activities competing for your time and attention.

Work-life balance entails having some breathing space for yourself each day, feeling a sense of accomplishment while not being consumed by work, and having an enjoyable domestic life without short-changing career obligations. It is rooted in whatever fulfillment means to you within 24-hour days, seven-day weeks, and however many years you have left.

Supporting Disciplines
Several disciplines support work-life balance though, individually, none are synonymous with work-life balance:

1) Self Management
Sufficiently managing one's self can be challenging, particularly in getting proper sleep, exercise, and nutrition. Self-management is the recognition that effectively using the spaces in our lives is vital, and that life, time, and available resources are finite. It means becoming captain of our own ship; no one is coming to steer for us.

2) Time Management
Effective time management involves making optimal use of your day and the supporting resources that can be summoned – you can only keep pace when your resources match your challenges. Time management is enhanced through appropriate goals and discerning what is both important and urgent, versus important OR urgent. It entails understanding what you do best and when, and assembling the appropriate tools to accomplish specific tasks.

3) Stress Management
By nature, societies tend to become more complex over time. In the face of increasing complexity, stress on the individual is inevitable. More people, noise, and distractions, independent of one's individual circumstances, require each of us to become more adept at maintaining tranquility and being able to work ourselves out of pressure-filled situations. Most forms of multi-tasking ultimately increase our stress, while focusing on one thing at a time helps decrease stress.

4) Change Management
In our fast-paced world, change is virtually the only constant. Continually adopting new methods, adapting old, and re-adapting all methods is vital to a successful career and a happy home life. Effective change management involves offering periodic and concerted efforts so that the volume and rate of change at work and at home does not overwhelm or defeat you.

5) Technology Management
Effectively managing technology requires ensuring that technology serves you, rather than abuses you. Technology has always been with us, since the first walking stick, spear, flint, and wheel. Today, the rate of technological change is accelerating, brought on by vendors seeking expanding market share. Often you have no choice but to keep up with the technological Joneses, but rule technology, don’t let it rule you.

6) Leisure Management
The most overlooked of the work-life balance supporting disciplines, leisure management acknowledges the importance of rest and relaxation- that one can't short-change leisure, and that "time off" is a vital component of the human experience. Curiously, too much of the same leisure activity, however enjoyable, can lead to monotony. Thus, effective leisure management requires varying one's activities.

Entirely Achievable
Achieving work-life balance does not require radical changes in what you do. It is about developing fresh perspectives and sensible, actionable solutions that are appropriate for you. It is fully engaging in life with what you have, right where you are, smack dab in the ever-changing dynamics of your existence.

Why the Pace of Life Quickens - Breathing Space Blog

Why the pace of life quickens: "Did You Know?/Shift Happens" (Version 6, 2012)

Why the Pace of Life Quickens - Breathing Space Blog

Why the pace of life quickens: "Did You Know?/Shift Happens" (Version 6, 2012)

Book: "When You Can You Will" - Breathing Space Blog

Notes from When You Can You Will by Lynne Bernfield, Berkley Books

▪ Subtitle: Why you Can't Always do What You Want to do.. and What to do about it.

▪ You can't hurry change. In our 'instant soup' society you're encouraged to do more, be more, have more, and achieve more. Technology enables us to accomplish more faster. No matter how quickly society moves, however, human beings still have to be ready before they can make certain changes.

▪ Human change is evolutionary. You might have to try on the change several times before you're accustomed to the way it feels.

Easy or Hard?
▪ Even if you don't know you're ready to change, your subconscious will know. It will help you to change the easy way or the hard way.

▪ Changes made the easy way are effortless. You often find yourself thinking, saying, and doing things that would have been unthinkable even the day before.

▪ Changes made the hard way can be difficult, unpleasant, and even frightening. You might feel as if you're breaking down or disintegrating, when in fact this will lead to the changes you need to make.

Your Cover Story
▪ Everyone has a cover story, a detailed explanation of who they are and who they are not. Once you discover your cover story, you're free to move on from it.

▪ Pretending to be something you're not means denying something you are. Human beings all come well-equipped with the capacity for denial.

▪ When you ask yourself the question, "What will happen if I make this change?", the answers may tell you exactly what is blocking your path to change. Being more successful might require you to perform better, take more risks, live up to your reputation or say no.

Book: "When You Can You Will" - Breathing Space Blog

Notes from When You Can You Will by Lynne Bernfield, Berkley Books

▪ Subtitle: Why you Can't Always do What You Want to do.. and What to do about it.

▪ You can't hurry change. In our 'instant soup' society you're encouraged to do more, be more, have more, and achieve more. Technology enables us to accomplish more faster. No matter how quickly society moves, however, human beings still have to be ready before they can make certain changes.

▪ Human change is evolutionary. You might have to try on the change several times before you're accustomed to the way it feels.

Easy or Hard?
▪ Even if you don't know you're ready to change, your subconscious will know. It will help you to change the easy way or the hard way.

▪ Changes made the easy way are effortless. You often find yourself thinking, saying, and doing things that would have been unthinkable even the day before.

▪ Changes made the hard way can be difficult, unpleasant, and even frightening. You might feel as if you're breaking down or disintegrating, when in fact this will lead to the changes you need to make.

Your Cover Story
▪ Everyone has a cover story, a detailed explanation of who they are and who they are not. Once you discover your cover story, you're free to move on from it.

▪ Pretending to be something you're not means denying something you are. Human beings all come well-equipped with the capacity for denial.

▪ When you ask yourself the question, "What will happen if I make this change?", the answers may tell you exactly what is blocking your path to change. Being more successful might require you to perform better, take more risks, live up to your reputation or say no.

The Consumer Republic - Breathing Space Blog

Stampedes and riots at shopping malls of late have made me think of the 2003 book,
A Consumers' Republic: The Politics of Mass Consumption in Postwar America,
by Lizabeth Cohen (Knopf). Dr. Cohen is a professor of American studies who asks
* How did mass consumption establish itself as a basic component of citizenship in the United States?
* How have the economic, political, social, and cultural structures engendered by mass consumption changed your life?

The Consumer Republic - Breathing Space Blog

Stampedes and riots at shopping malls of late have made me think of the 2003 book,
A Consumers' Republic: The Politics of Mass Consumption in Postwar America,
by Lizabeth Cohen (Knopf). Dr. Cohen is a professor of American studies who asks
* How did mass consumption establish itself as a basic component of citizenship in the United States?
* How have the economic, political, social, and cultural structures engendered by mass consumption changed your life?