Four Techniques To Help You Achieve Work-Life BalanceAchieving work-life balance is something both women and men should strive for.

Before we define the term, let's be clear about whatwork life balanceis not. It is not about trying to get the same time and enjoyment for both your personal life and your work life. It is more about getting enjoyment and fulfilment from both your personal and work lives, and accepting that each day will bring a new set of challenges. It will involve making allowances, and, to some extent, sacrifices that you are willing to do, so that you can get what you want. The term is often related, unfortunately, to women, although achieving this work-life balance is something men should strive for as well. Here are some of the techniques I have adopted that help me achieve an acceptable work-life balance:

1. Find your balanceYouneedto know what a work-life balance means to you. What I consider to be a work-life balance will be another person's nightmare, so go to the drawing board and find out what is important to you. If you don't know, you may accept a way of life that does not give you the fulfilment you are after.

2. Maintain open communicationsI communicate with my team about what is important to me, so they know when l am available. As Arianna Huffington says: "Companies don't always know what their female employees need," which isoftentrue- in my case, these can include everything from attending my son's first day at school to taking my holiday at a specific time of the year. But, of course, l also need to berealistic about the business' needs. For example, I do not plan my vacation around the busiest time of the year. This also goes for my team. If they have specific events that they want to attend, I encourage them to share these with the team as early as possible, so we can make the necessary arrangements. As a result, planning and considering your work-life balance ahead of time can put you in a positive position.

3. Prioritize what is important (and what is urgent)There are times when something urgent and important comes up, which means l have toreview my priorities, and once again, communicate them to the concerned parties. It is unrealistic for me to expect that I can do everything. I have become very good at identifying what is important, and what is urgent, and not being accessible all the time, or that is what people will start to expect.

4. You set the tonePeople will treat you the way you let them treat you. This is about managing expectations- and also setting them. If your colleagues and family are able to set realistic and manageable expectations, then the road ahead will be clearer.

A work-life balance, for me, is essential to cope with myday-to-day stress, and at the same time, ensure that I, my family, and my organization can succeed. In my workshops, I have seen the stress associated with people having unbalanced lifestyles, thinking they can do it all. It impacts their productivity and general perspectives, and it also increases health risks.

Employees who have the tools to balance their professional and personal lives are happier, healthier, and more productive. Understanding the benefits of a healthy balanced life will motivate anyone to make necessary changes.

Related:Balancing Act: Work-Life Balance Should Be Your Enterprise's Concern