For people who actually write down their annual goals, achieving balance and working smarter nearly always rank within the top five. It’s no different for me. And yet here I sit writing a blog that’s well over due to the Biz Box folks (Sorry!) because I find myself constantly overwhelmed with tasks. The only thing I have yet to give up is sleep. Sound familiar? Do you know what I mean? At the beginning of the year I promised myself I would separate my work from my life and attempt to live a more balanced life. I began re-modeling my house, spending more time with my kids and even trying out a new relationship. People in the psychology world say we need this sort of “balance” – thus far, it has been a disaster for me, resulting in a huge backlog of work and more stress in my life.

I haven’t taken this goal off my list just yet but I have given up trying to change entirely; I know when to admit defeat! What I’ve come to believe is that more people are integrating their careers and their personal lives, resulting in an evolution for many people. Gone are the days of an 8-5 routine that we as Americans have lived by for generations.

A few examples of this trend include:

• We are connected 24/7 with either a laptop and/or a Blackberry device
• Corporate wellness centers offering “napping services” are beginning to pop up
• Companies such as Google offer every “non-essential” service an employee needs to make it easier to integrate work and life and remain productive
• Our personal, office and cell phones can be integrated into one device allowing us to always be there when a client, child or significant other needs something
• New types of high speed wireless networks such 3G, 4G and Wi-Max are about to integrate everything we do on the computer and phone and offer unlimited access to knowledge

So what have I done? I no longer consider getting to work at 8:00 a.m. of great importance, and 5:00 p.m. comes and goes like 2:00 p.m. I have taken the time to organize my home so I can watch the morning news in a corner of my flat screen TV while working on emails or a presentation. If my kids are at home and they need some time for something, it gets integrated into Outlook. When I am at work, if I need to order some tile for a bathroom project, I do it right then, when I have a moment. I work harder during the day, incorporating my personal life when necessary in a secondary way, and I work less at night, where my personal life becomes my primary focus.

Working smarter and finding balance really means:
1) Listening to our bodies and knowing when to slow down or do something else
2) Don’t get stressed out if you need to take a call at 7:30 p.m. in the evening – it happens
3) Stay connected and answer emails on the fly. It is more important to stay on top of things than to have total separation of work and home

So what about you? Tell me – are you resisting the change of our new 24/7 connectivity? How are you evolving your life into this new work culture?

Also.......One rule I do have, I never answer an email or phone call (unless it is extremely urgent) when in conversation with someone else.