A Balanced Life, LLC

3 Ways to Create a Productive and Positive Work Environment

Having a positive and efficient work environment is critical to being successful and balanced.  For  some of us, it seems as if we spend more time at our workplace then we do at home.  This even applies to those of us who work at home.  Despite your particular situation, it is important that you design your office environment so that it is organized, efficient, and allows you to be productive.

Creating a positive work environment does not require that you spend tons of money.  There are many low cost and no cost solutions that can make your workspace productive.  Even the way we act and conduct business in the workplace can have a big impact on creating a positive work environment for those who work with us.  Listed below are a few ways you can create a positive work environment:

Be on Purpose

January is National Be on Purpose Month. I don't think that this is a concoindince. January is typically the time fo year that people develop resolutions and goals for the new year. However, instead of developing resolutions this year, I am going to develop intentions for the year.

I believe for us to live our lives to the fullest extent that we have to live intentionally. Living intentionally means that we are living our lives with a purpose. This means that we are living our lives with intergrity. I challenge each of us to start out this new year by living with a purpose. We also need to have to courage to make changes when our purpose changes. Periodically throughout the year we should check in with ourselves. We should evaluate if the same things that had meaning and purpose to us in the beginning of the year still have the same meaning. If they do, then continue living purposefully. If not, then take some to evaluate the changes and plan your new purpose.

This is another exciting year full of exciting new possibilities. Be on Purpose!

Maintaining Balance

It is hard to believe that we are in the middle of January in the year 2010. The new year brought in new expectations, dreams and intentions.  We are now reaching the point in the new year when some start to revert back to old habits.  However, now more than every it is time to stay focused and keep our New Year intentions in the front of our mind.  Having a sense of balance in our lives can assist us in achieving our new intentions.  There are several things we can keep in mind to assist us in feeling balanced every day.  Try to remember to:  

• Be realistic with your time.  Don't over schedule yourself.  Allot a few more minutes to complete a task then you think it requires.  Avoid calendar congestion by writing your schedule on a calendar or keep it in your Smartphone.  Consult it before scheduling commitments.

• Prepare the night before.  To help you get back in the saddle, it's a good idea to get ready the night before.  This doesn't just mean picking our your clothes and packing the kids lunches.  It can also include looking at your calendar and to-do list for the next day.  Consider all your obligations; not just what you have going on in the office.  Taking a glance at you commitments can help put you in the right mindset for the morning.

• Carefully evaluate all of your commitments.  It's great to be the one who volunteers for an extra project at work or sign up to make 3 dozen cupcakes for your child's class party.  However, before you raise your hand it is important to make sure that it's the right time and the right commitment.  You don't have to be everything to everybody.

• All the planning the world can't prevent the unexpected from happening.  It is critical for you to be flexible.  Being able to adapt to the unexpected is crucial when planning for the days, weeks and months ahead.

Keeping these things in mind will allow you to design a life that is balanced.  Remember, maintaining a sense of work life balance is a daily LIFESTYLE not just a New Year's Resolution. You can keep your momentum going!

Calendar Congestion

There are many time management experts that teach us the importance of scheduling ourselves and keeping some sort of calendar system.  Personally I agree that scheduling our appointments and daily tasks is a great idea.  Writing down our daily commitments is a great mechanism for making sure we keep track of everything we have to do.

I also believe that writing things down on our calendar allows us to examine if we are being unrealistic with our time.  Looking at our daily, monthly and yearly calendars can let us see if our calendars are congested.  Congested calendars are those calendars that have obligations and tasks penciled in from the time someone gets up until the time they go to bed.  A great visual clue is to look for white space on your calendar.  If we don't have any then chances are our calendar is congested.

There are several strategies that can be used to prevent or alleviate calendar congestion.  Some tips to consider when cleaning up are calendars are:

• Evaluate each and every appointment and commitment. Are our obligations in alignment with what is really important or is it filled with commitments that we feel pressured to accept?
• Do the commitments on our calendar reflect obligations from all aspects of our lives? Or are our obligations lopsided?
• Are we being unrealistic with the amount of time we are allotting for certain tasks or obligations?
• Are there areas where we can simplify and slow down?

Looking at our schedule on paper can be a visual reminder for us to decide if our calendar is congested or not.  Maintaining a congestion free calendar is a great tool for living a balanced life.

Start Organizing Yourself Today

As busy women we fulfill many different roles and responsibilities each day.  Our daily schedules can be jammed pack from the time we get up in the morning until we go to bed at night. Because we sometimes rush, we may not have the time to put back the shoe boxes we pulled out of the closet when searching for our favorite sandals. There are also instances when things in our physical space may be cluttered because we have not stopped long enough to decide where things should go. Identifying a specific place for everything and putting things in their place assists in creating a sense of balance in our lives. 

At times this is easier said then done.  But having a designated place for our beauty products, purses, unopened mail, and keys can ease the sense of being overwhelmed.  The same is true at work.  If our physical space is cluttered, it can make us feel cluttered internally.  This is contrary to living a balanced life.

You don't have to designate a place for everything all at once.  Make a list of the areas in your life that need to organizing.  From this list, pick one area to focus on.  Work your way through this space until you have a designated place for everything.  For instance, you might decide that you want to start in your bedroom.  Start by making sure all of your visible surfaces (i.e. dressers, nightstands) are clear from clutter.  Then make you way to the areas that are not visible such as your closet and dresser drawers.