Mitzi Perdue

You Might Think Work-Life Balance Isn’t about YOU–But It Is!

YOU MIGHT THINK WORK-LIFE BALANCE ISN’T ABOUT YOU­­––BUT IT IS!

• Do you feel that you’ve got too many balls in the air?
• That things are out of control?
• That you don’t have time for what should be the most important parts of your life, such as your family and your intimate relationships?

If so, then Sharon Weinstein’s message to you is just what the doctor ordered. Weinstein is a health professional and also an acclaimed public speaker. She continuously shares with her audiences, and now with you, why it’s essential to get your work-life balance right.

By the way, Weinstein knows about this issue because she’s lived it.  “For years I was working 100 hours a week,” she begins. “I was helping create the infrastructure for health care in countries all over Eastern Europe. I was visiting three different countries a week and I loved it.”

However, one day when she had just finished a health project in Armenia, something changed. The plane that would have enabled her to get back to the States in time for her son’s engagement party was grounded.

She was suddenly faced with four days in Armenia, unable to be there for one of her family’s most important milestones.  “Where is the path I’m on going to lead?” she wondered.

Looking into the future she knew there would probably be a wedding, and also, she hoped, grandchildren. Her unbalanced work life, she realized, was on track to cause her to miss the things that make life most meaningful.

Sitting in a hotel room near Republic Square in the center of Yerevan, it dawned on her that she needed to create a future in which she’d spend less time in the air and more time with her family and the people who were important to her.

But there was more. As she continued examining her life, she realized that shewas also neglecting her health.  To get ever more work done, she didn’t exercise, paid little attention to what she ate, and was chronically sleep-deprived.

Weinstein is a healthcare professional, and she knew that unless she changed, her future probably included a wheel chair, premature aging, and an early end to the Sharon Weinstein Show.

She decided she had to change.  Today she counsels individuals and organizations on how to achieve a healthy and satisfying work-life balance.

Her approach now includes:

• Self-care is a priority. She makes a calendar appointment for it each day, including 45 minutes to an hour of biking, lifting, or walking.  “Make an appointment on your calendar for exercise the way you’d make a business appointment,” she recommends.
• Be sure to drink enough water. She knows that lack of hydration can impair your well-being, including your ability to think clearly. “If urination is clear, you’re good; if it is yellow you’re not drinking enough.”
• Get enough sleep. “Women need 6 to 7 of sleep a night and men need 8 to 9. If you’re a senior citizen, you may need more than that.  When you don’t get enough sleep, your body doesn’t have a chance to fully restore.”
• Plan to have at least one thing in your day each day that can bring you joy.
• Spend time on the things that allow you to bring joy into the lives of others.
• When you’ve taken care of the priorities, then look at your to do list and pick five that must be done. The others will wait.

Weinstein summarizes by saying, “Keep your habits, but make wiser choices, and a life in balance should be first.”

Sharon Weinstein works with organizations that want to learn how life balance can drive safety, satisfaction, and success. For more information on her work, contact her at: sharon@sharonmweinstein.comor visit her website at: http://sharonmweinstein.com.