June was a busy month of executive coaching. During these sessions I’ve consistently heard what a struggle it is for leaders to handle their over-flowing workloads. Yes, the age-old Time Management dilemma. So I held some informal focus groups to see how people are handling this dilemma. Here are some suggestions from those who have figured it out!.

#1 – Strive for work/life integration rather than work/life balance.

One of my clients attended a conference recently, where speaker Connie Lindsey, head of Corporate Social Responsibility for Northern Trust Banks, said instead of “work/life balance” (which is next to impossible), we should be striving for “work/life integration.” Her reasons were as follows:

• Balance sounds like something that you get right or wrong and she believes that women in particular put too much pressure on themselves.


• Balance is also not relevant when issues of tremendous priority are involved – a sick family member, for instance – and then total focus, rather than balance, is the right thing to do.Integration is about determining those things that are important to you and working to fit the pieces.

#2 – The word NO is a full sentence.

Connie also felt that when we say no, there’s no need to follow with a long explanation. Say it nicely, but say it with conviction.

#3 – When you’re present – BE present.

Early in my career, I learned this lesson from my husband, a senior executive with IBM at the time. I was bringing my work home way too often, which caused me to focus on the work rather than on our family. I was “present,” but admittedly was NOT “present.” (Now that’s an oxymoron!). Anyway, Doug said something that stopped me in my tracks: “Honey, if you have to always bring work home, maybe the job is too much for you!”

Whoa! Now THAT got my attention. That’s also when I realized that bringing work home was becoming a habit, not a necessity. So I stopped…for the most part. I DID get the work done AT work and recognized that it was a matter of discipline in prioritizing the daily activities on my plate. It worked! And now when I DO bring work home, my family knows it’s a must, not a habit.