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Achieving a Better Family and Work Balance Makes for Better Job Performance Are you constantly working after hours and weekends at the office? Are beginning to forget what your family even looks like? Many people find themselves in this predicament. Work seems to get more and more demanding with every passing day, and to stay on top of your game at work, you feel like you need to put in long hours. The flipside to this is that of course when you are at the office, you are away from home – away from family dinners, play time and your kids’ sporting events or school plays. You may feel like your hands are tied – that no matter how much you want to be more involved with your family life, you have to keep working as hard as ever to make sure your family is provided for in the long run. The truth is, however, that you may be doing yourself a disservice on both fronts. Studies have shown time and again that well rested workers with well balanced lives are more productive in the time they do spend working. In the end, the best way to be a stand out worker at the office is to be fully involved and present in your family live. But wait, you say, “I’m working practically around the clock now, and everything still isn’t getting done.” However, maybe the problem isn’t that you aren’t working hard enough. Maybe the problem instead is that you aren’t working smart enough. Think about the way you spend you working day. Are you taking on more responsibility than you need to, instead of delegating tasks to others? Are you spending a lot of time chatting in the break room when you run for a cup of coffee? Are you procrastinating so that big projects require you to work all-nighters instead of spreading out the work? Keep a journal of all of your activities at work for a few days. You might be surprised to see how you are really spending your time and in what areas you could make improvements. Simply staying on task and delegating effectively could get you home in time for dinner. When you have done everything you can to make your work habits as productive as possible, it is time to turn to other ways to balance your work life and your family life. Rule number one is the hardest one for most people to follow you – draw clear lines of distinction between work time and family time. Family time isn’t really family time if you are constantly on your cell phone making and receiving work calls or if you are on your laptop for the entire family vacation. When you’re working – work. When you’re with your family – concentrate on them. The time you spend actually taking a breather from work will recharge your batteries and make you a better worker when work time rolls around again. Next, you have to evaluate your priorities. Maybe working around the clock will help you make partner faster, but at what cost? Decide if seeing your daughter’s soccer game every week is more important to you than moving up the corporate ladder quickly, and make adjustments in your schedule appropriately. There is no right or wrong answer, but deciding where you priorities lie will make scheduling easier for you. With your priorities in mind, see what work options are available to you to help you meet them. If you want more time with the kids, see if your office offers flex time or part time hours to help you meet your family commitments. Last but not least, don’t feel guilty about taking time with your family. Not only is this time important to your family, you can rest assured that the time out from the office stress will make you more productive when you return to work.

How to Be a Better Employee when You Work for Yourself Whether you are just starting or you have had your own business for many years, there are many reasons why you would be a better employee when you work for yourself. The biggest reason of all is probably that you work to make your own living. You do not just get a salary. If you as the boss and owner of the business do not produce the work and effort needed, you most likely will not make any money. If your business is not only providing for you, but also for you family, it is even more important that you make profit of your company. No profit and income from your joint venture means no food on your family’s table and that is a serious problem. For this monetary reason, many self-employed workers work harder, longer and put more effort in than other employees. Another reason lies within proving that your business can be successful. You want to be top-notch in what you are doing. Whether it is manufacturing products or offering services, if it is your own business, you are taking pride in what you do and you want to prove to customers and others that you are their first choice. Then you need to deliver quality. Often times as an owner of a business, you make sure that everything is one hundred percent and that is more than you would most likely give for somebody else’s business. If you work for a company as one of their employees, you might wonder why you should work long hours each and everyday, without the benefits. However, when it is your own business, money flows right into your pockets and every profit you gain from working harder can be yours immediately. Also, if you belong to the group of people that like to decide when they start work, when they finish and what they do, then being your own boss is probably one of the best choices for you. It is easier to work better and give more energy in what you do when you can decide what exactly you want to work on. Of course, some things always have to be done, but you can more or less decide whether you want to do it now or at ten o’clock at night. Did you also know that most of people would work better when they are having people that are under them? You are trying to set an example in work ethics, hours worked and projects completed and therefore, you will put extra effort in what you do when you are working for yourself. Your employees take you as an example for how they should do their work and if you just hang around and do nothing, why would your employees be motivated to do something? But if they get feedback and motivation from you and can see that you put just as much effort or even more into the company, they are more likely willing to follow in the footprints that you have left for them. Keep in mind, that when working for yourself, you are your own resource and motivator. Therefore it is important that you keep better work ethics than when you work for somebody else to not risk what you started. A hard working company owner most often gets rewarded with a growing business and happy customers that will come back year after year. Customers do like to be appreciated and a hard working business owner that will get on their case immediately is one way of appreciation to them.

What to Think about While Choosing a Writing Desk (writing desk) Writing desks come in many shapes and forms. The technical definition is a piece of furniture with a surface for writing, with drawers and pigeonholes for writing materials and a portable case that when opened forms a surface on which to write. A writing desk could be as complex as that definition or as simple as a desk for writing. Basically a writing desk can be anything that you want it to be. You may not need to buy a writing desk. You may be perfectly comfortable with one you already have or working on the couch or at the kitchen table. This is fine. If it is a cohesive work environment for you that is fabulous, but some writers require a more formal, dedicated area just for them. By finding the perfect writing desk, you are on the way to the start of creative that work style atmosphere that they need. Before you begin your writing desk shopping venture you must first have two things picked out. The area in which your desk is going to go and the chair you are going to use. The location of the desk is important because it will be necessary to choose a size and style. The chair is important for comfort and maybe an important factor in determine the correct height of desk needed. Once these are figured out you shopping journey is ready to begin. While shopping for a writing desk the most important feature is comfort. You need to sit at the desk for most likely for hours at a time. Having a desk at the right height is imperative to this. With the writing surface being to high or to low will not only be uncomfortable but also will more that likely make it difficult for you to concentrate and write. Having a writing desk that is not the correct height is likely to cause neck and back strain. The function and the size of your writing desk are the next factors you need to consider before you purchase one. Do you need one with a little storage or a lot? Does it need to have an adjustable surface or can it just be flat? With all the choices available assessing what you need can help narrow down the ones that will work for you. How big of a space do you have for it? These are some simple considerations that are often forgotten while buying a writing desk. It would be terrible to fall in love with a desk and bring it home just to find out that it is not going to fit. The next important thing is style. When choosing the style of the writing desk you will want it to flow with the furniture already in your home. If your home is modern or contemporary you may want to choose one of the metal and glass desk designs or perhaps one with light wood tones and metal accents are right for you. Another great writing desk available is called the secretary. The secretary is wooden desk with drawers on the bottom and a fold down writing surface. They are usually compact in size but have ample storage and often offer shelving covered by glass doors on top. Plus having a fold down writing surface, it is easy to close up when you are done and hide you space altogether. Choosing the writing desk that is right for you may not seem that important. I mean how difficult could it be to choose a surface to write on, right? But making sure comfort, storage, and style fit into your lifestyle is an important decision. This is part of creating a suitable working environment for you to produce your work.