Archive for July, 2009

Recently Lisa Gates, a Twitter friend of mine, and I jumped on the phone and talked about life, business, and the whole notion of workplace flexibility. Lisa is a life balance specialist and coach with Craving Balance and I just love her positivity and perspective on all things related to work-life balance. I asked Lisa to share her thoughts on regaining balance and today she brings you 10 questions you can ask yourself to get your life back on track. Enjoy!

You know you’re out of balance when…

1. Your mail sits unopened for a week and you pay your bills late.
2. You think that the more plates you can spin, the more you can have it all.
3. You keep declining invitations with friends.
4. You can’t remember the last time you talked with your brother.
5. You forget appointments and blow off commitments (like working out, eating healthy).
6. You stop writing your task lists for the week and fly by the seat of your pants.
7. You haven’t synced your iPhone in weeks.
8. You don’t care if you’re not on track with your plan.
9. You can’t remember what’s in your plan.
10. You don’t answer your phone or you’re always on the phone.

Isn’t “having it all” a hamster-wheel myth borne of fear? Why not stop the bloodletting and take a look. Making quality-of-life shifts is much more sustainable when the solutions come authentically and naturally from within. We achieve that by asking questions, making inquiries, and recommitting ourselves to actions that are connected to our values.

To get yourself back on track, it’s helpful to ask yourself some powerful questions now and then. These 10 questions will bring resonance to your choices and heart to your actions:

1. What is it to be completely fulfilled in life?
2. What values, qualities of being must be present for you to have a fulfilled life?
3. How would honoring those values impact your experience of work-life balance?
4. What are you committed to? (Not goals… goals are the doings that happen inside the field of commitments.)
5. What actions give you the least joy?
6. If you were committed to an organized, energetic, juicy, fulfilling experience in your work and life, how would that change your perspective about #5?
7. What two or three actions could you take right now that would create the most impact on your wellbeing?
8. What three things do you do in your daily life have absolutely no relevance to work or life fulfillment?
9. What are you willing to give up?
10. When will you commit to answering all these questions?

No, really: When will you commit to answering all these questions?

About the Author

Lisa Gates is a life balance specialist and coach with Craving Balance. She is passionate about helping women set goals from the inside out, design personalized balance roadmaps, and bring rigorous and soulful accountability to their personal and professional lives. Through their unique Set Your Own Rate and Donate program, all women have access to coaching, while making a contribution to organizations that benefit women’s leadership and women’s equality.

My laptop broke this week and I realized I had totally underestimated my need for freedom. I know I need flexibility in how, when, and where I work. I mean that’s what this whole blog is about! And unlimited flexibility is the primary reason I own my own business and work from home. The entrepreneurial lifestyle is designed for people like me! But this week, as I’ve been stuck at my desk, glaring at my laptop from across the room, cursing my new stationary workstyle, I’ve come to deeply understand how important work environment is to productivity.

My laptop broke this week and I realized I had totally underestimated my need for freedom. I know I need flexibility in how, when, and where I work. I mean that’s what this whole blog is about! And unlimited flexibility is the primary reason I own my own business and work from home. The entrepreneurial lifestyle is designed for people like me! But this week, as I’ve been stuck at my desk, glaring at my laptop from across the room, cursing my new stationary workstyle, I’ve come to deeply understand how important work environment is to productivity.

Prior to this week I was unaware of how much I roam during my workday. Although I typically begin my day at my desk, I rarely stay there. Depending on task, I may work in the dining room, on the couch in the living room, on the couch in my office, on my bed, on the back porch, at Panera Bread, Starbucks, or up at the local library. I’m a roaming worker—I go where I feel inspired, where the environment best suits my needs at any given time.

And this week, since I couldn’t do that because of technology, I found myself frequently frustrated. I wasn’t as productive, creative, or motivated. I didn’t feel like working because I simply cannot sit at a desk all day. I’m sure you can relate if you’ve ever been assigned a desk or office or forced to work in a cubicle even though it’s not the environment where you produce the best results. The freedom and flexibility to move around while you work matters a great deal. And it matters to most people—not just entrepreneurs.

Although I’m not thrilled to be without a laptop as this week concludes, it is good to consciously recognize my deeply engrained need to freely roam and working where I feel inspired.

Leave me a comment and let me know where you do your best work. Are you a roamer like me or do you prefer a static location? What tools and technology do you depend on to make it possible?

Last week I was doing some consulting work here in Dallas and attended a strategy and planning meeting for an upcoming event. While the majority of people attending the meeting were Dallas locals, two individuals had flown in from out of state for a 3-hour meeting.

As the meeting concluded, one of the executives commented that it was nice having the out-of-towners fly in to attend the meeting in person. Then they exchanged comments about hating conference calls and meeting over the phone, complaining how it just wasn’t the same. This my friend, is Sludge.

Sure, virtual meetings aren’t quite the same as face-to-face contact, but I couldn’t help but wonder, when are we going to let go of our old, outdated beliefs about how work happens?! Consider the expense and the environmental impact of flying people into town, renting a car, staying overnight at a hotel for a 3-hour meeting. And did I mention the other consultants and I had to fight rush-hour traffic, sitting on the highway for about an hour each way to commute into Dallas?

This may sound harsh, but meetings aren’t about enjoying the company of your coworkers in person and they aren’t about using your preferred communication method. Meetings are—or at least should be—about accomplishing a specific result. There should be a clear outcome for each meeting you attend and the meeting should be accomplished in the medium (in-person, conference call, webinar, etc) that makes the most sense. And p.s. a status update doesn’t warrant a meeting.

In our meeting last week we had specific outcomes and results we needed to answer by the end of the meeting. And we did. But we could have reached the same conclusions by meeting virtually, saving everyone time, money, and lessening our impact on the environment.

What do you think? Are in-person meetings essential? If so, when? What difference would it make in your life and your organization if you attended fewer in-person meetings?

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of speaking with Chris Ferdinandi, the brilliant mind behind the RenegadeHR blog, about the results-only work environment (ROWE) movement. Chris recorded our conversation and has made the podcast available on his website (you can listen here).

Chris asked some good questions about ROWEs and we covered a lot of ground. Here’s a preview of the topics we talked about:

• Overview of ROWE and its importance
• Interdependent team work in a ROWE
• Increasing productivity
• Maintaining organizational culture in a ROWE
• Managerial results
• Unethical behavior in a ROWE

Have a listen and let me know if I can answer any other questions you may have about ROWEs.

Today I have the honor of being a guest blogger over at Scot Herrick’s CubeRules.com where I talk about accountability in a flexible work environment.

Here’s a quick overview:

Accountability in any workplace is important, but it becomes absolutely critical in flexible work environments. Whether it’s a results-only work environment, a virtual team, or a telecommuting relationship, when you can’t count on a colleague, direct report, or manager to be at work in the same location or at the same time as you, accountability plays an essential role in your ability to accomplish your work. Here are three things you can do to establish accountability in your flexible work environment.

Head over to Cube Rules to check out the full article.