You’re a Consulting professional. How can you balance your work and personal life?

In my experience, this article almost lays out a good foundation. You can add the following elements to make it more effective. 1. Mindful Micro-Breaks: Take short mindfulness breaks. A few minutes of deep breathing or a quick walk can recharge you. 2. Weekly Reflection: Dedicate time each week for personal reflection. It helps you reassess priorities and adjust goals accordingly. 3. Smart Delegation: Identify tasks that can be delegated effectively. Empowering others not only lightens your load but also fosters team growth. 4. Pursuit your Passion: Allocate time for personal passions outside work. Engaging in hobbies rejuvenates your mind and fuels creativity.

Sometimes working remote, we go straight to work without really focusing on us and I learned the hard way after facing burnout. In order to focus better on yourself, I spend 1-2 hours before work, working out and listening to a podcast, then journaling out my day to have a clear idea on what to focus on-prioritizes, goals and maybe something fun like a hobby! I break that up into 3 sections-Personal, Professional and Career that way i keep accountable for the things I need to do outside of work and personal. So, if you're wanting to focus a little more on you, try giving yourself time to work your body, brain and write out your to do's for the day! Start your day off fresh with a whole level of focus on you!

Working as a consultant for any organization you will be in a spot where you have to manage both internal as well as external stakeholders. Setting up clear boundaries becomes critical to maintain the work life balance. Being consultant you will have great understanding of end to end processes and hence, both internal and external stakeholders looks up to you in case any understanding/discussions are needed and hence, often consultants ends up getting involved in the tasks which might not required their involvement/intervention. Hence, setting up clear boundaries/expectation becomes very critical.

In my experience if you in Consulting profile then you should make an proper allocation of time for your work and Life.Sometimes in consulting you might have to devaote extra time for specific period make sure whenever you work hard you give reward to yourself. Plans your weeks ahead and Task management can help you to do better time management

Balancing work and personal life is essential for maintaining overall well-being and preventing burnout in the consulting profession. Here are some strategies that consulting professionals can use to achieve a better balance between work and personal life: Set Boundaries: Establish clear boundaries between work and personal life by defining specific work hours, unplugging from work emails and calls during non-work hours, and prioritizing personal time for relaxation, hobbies, and social activities. Prioritize Tasks: Prioritize tasks and responsibilities based on urgency and importance, focusing on high-impact activities that align with your goals and values. Delegate tasks when possible and avoid overcommitting to projects or engagement.

Having a clear objective for tasks you have picked up and planning ahead helps a lot. Few things that helped me: - Fit in some buffer time between tasks. e.g. for 30 mins meeting, set aside 45 mins on your calendar. - Prioritize your time - e.g. do 25 mins instead of 30 mins block and aim to close it. If you are not adding value, drop from the call or politely decline. - Always plan for contingency. Anything can go wrong !

Plan your personal life first. Most consultants sacrifice their personal health and creative energy for their clients. It's not sustainable because in consulting clients are buying your creative energy. Putting your health and work boundaries first actually improves client results and retention. Personal life first. Then plan your work ON the business. Plan client work last: you won't let them down.

You can’t. Balance is an illusion. There will be busy times at work, and busy times at home. Trying to balance them will only set you up for disappointment. Instead, communicate the realities. Recognize the seasons.

One time at work can increase your effienciency.Planning is one of important tool to make Work life balance.You should Plan ahead ofcause everything you cannot plan in advance. Some of Work will come on ad-hoc basis. You need to have an flexible schudule to make sure you have bandwith to have time for adhoc task that come to you.

Proactive and meticulous planning techniques have helped me free up valuable time which I could spend with family and for interests. Use state of the art tools to help devide larger tasks into smaller and schedule them for execution with regular followups.

One thing that i found useful is you can use tools for your time management. You can use tools for tracking the productive hours work.Task that can be automated you can automate them. Task that can be delegated to other team member you can delegate them so you have more time to foucus on your work. Other thing you can set reminder for yourself for completion of task. You can also keep record for time taken for repectitive task so nect time you can plan in better ways.

Be fully present where you're at. That's simple to say but not easy to do. It takes disciplined focus. When I'm working on work, I aim to fully focus on that. Eliminate distractions. When I'm with family - focus on them. Don't let work creep in or be surfing through work emails on my phone. Be fully present with my family. It can take tremendous focus to do this at times given all of the distractions, but when I'm able to do it - it's the best answer for the balance question that I've found.

As a consultant, it can be easy to get sucked into accepting every project with a mindset of "I'm not sure I'll get enough work otherwise". Over my 20 years of consulting EVERY time I have turned down a piece of work which hasn't felt right or which I didn't really want to do, or which had become stale or boring or wasn't aligned with my values...it has opened up time and space for NEW and DIFFERENT opportunities, which have been more rewarding, more profitable, more energising and more affirming for me and my clients. It takes Self Belief and Clarity of Purpose to do this. Get support/coaching/supervision to keep your self belief healthy and your purpose at the centre of how you serve your clients. It becomes a self-fulfilling cycle.

This is very difficult for most consultants because you want to help as many people and entities as you can, but you have to realise that there are only 24 hours in a day and that you need to pick your battles. You will have to turn down some jobs, and with time you will learn to identify those jobs that are a better fit for you and should prioritise. Working with another consultant and off-loading jobs that you turn down and vice-versa can also become the basis of a cooperative agreement that brings you better jobs.

To be able to pass on projects, it's important to make sure you have a clear understanding of your own definition of success. Many go into consulting after being on a path they thought would bring a traditional type of "success," but realizing they were unfulfilled or unhappy. So when entering the consulting world, it's critical to clarify and/or redefine what success really means to you (that can include more than a certain income). While saying no to projects can be hard, if that decision is framed in the context of your personalized version of success, it feels more natural. The more you make this kind of decision, the easier it becomes, and the more it opens you up to work that does contribute to the success you truly want.

In my experience you should not get involved in every task.You should not get into project which are not align with your expertise. You can say no to them. Saying no in manner that it should not spoils your relationship with clients.Saying NO for something is art.

Every time you day "yes" to something, you're saying "no" to something else. What are you saying "no" to by saying "yes"? Is the thing you're saying yes to aligned with your long-term goals and vision of what you want in life? I find this is a helpful prism to look through when I'm urged to take more onto my plate versus respectfully declining. I've read repeatedly that the really successful people in life say no much more than they say yes. In that way, they make room for what truly matters to them in life.

As an entrepreneur, it's so important to remember that as much as you have to be independent, a self-starter, and do things alone, you also need to know when to get help. Reaching out to others, whether it be for business opportunities or to delegate some of the work on your plate, is essential to growth. Otherwise, you become a hamster on the wheel and that's no fun. And if it's no fun, then what's the point?

In my experience sekking support from your seniors, mentor and team members can solve your problems in less time. Sometime You might not aware of thing which other are. As an consulatnat you should always be ready to learn new thing and ask for support from anyone who can assist you in that.

Couldn’t have said that better. Every time I reached out for help or expertise ( outside of mine) or delegated, the results have been strong. The side benefits are great.

As a leader I always deligate tasks to my team by their strengths, interests and availbility, higher skilled team member can execute tasks quicker than others and help bring efficiency to the execution. In the end it will boil down to level and quality of support you have developed around you. I look for SMEs, mentors and automation wherever possible.

Leverage technology and tools to optimize your productivity and efficiency. Use online platforms, apps, and software to manage your tasks, track your time, collaborate with your team, and automate your processes. Take care of your physical and mental health. Schedule regular breaks, exercise, sleep, and relaxation. Eat well, stay hydrated, and avoid excessive caffeine and alcohol. Seek support from your family, friends, and peers when you feel stressed or overwhelmed.

I find that most work-life balance discussions focus on the "work" part of the equation, but there are phases in our lives where "life" requires more of us physically and emotionally. Recognizing when these shifts are taking place and adjusting for them are key to maintaining balance. I have a work-life balance plan (document) that I use to check in on myself -- what roles am I playing across my life right now, and how much time am I spending on them? Are they taking me where I want to go? Am I happy in them? What would I change or adjust? I began this process a year ago, and I will continue it going forward. Game-changer. I am more in-touch with where I am, what my capacity is, and what I'd like to invest my time on. Try it - it works!

Achieving work-life balance is a nuanced challenge; personally, I don't subscribe to its traditional definition. If you're contemplating this, consider it a warning sign, prompting a closer look. In my view, greatness requires obsession, a profound love for daily tasks, and a genuine passion for the process. While balance is crucial, it's not about work versus life but how you structure your time. It's a deeply personal endeavor, and individual preferences vary. However, two practices I've found beneficial are time-blocking and rejecting the societal norm of working solely for the weekend. Instead, I view time as exploitable blocks, ensuring harmony in all aspects of life.

The very notion of separating work and life is misleading. Work is a bigger chunk of our lives and defines our lives in many ways than others. It needs to be in harmony with the basic principles of our life. If you are working in a situation that makes you feel angry, sad and frustrated on most days, you should immediately leave that work and switch to something else which gives you pleasure. I think no one can become great by loathing their work, they have to love it and integrate it as a part of their life. In conclusion, I don't think one can separate work from our life. So be careful where you choose to work and why.

In my experience, work-life balance is driven more by the industry/firm than what one can impose on an employer. If one desires a certain work-life balance, do some research and chose your industry and firm accordingly.