Striking a balance between work and family life has become a major issue in our culture. Although there are many factors that have created stress, I believe that our global economy, combined with technology, have escalated the hurried pace of life that seems so prevalent in our day-to-day lives.

Think about it. If you are in the US or Canada and you’re doing business with someone in Europe or Australia, their workday may be during your family time, and vice versa. If you are going to be responsive to a customer’s needs across the globe, you may feel a need to extend your work hours to accommodate them. Combine that with the ability to reach someone any time of day or night -- no matter where they are (even on vacation) -- and you have a recipe for very little down time, unless you self-impose some limitations on your availability.

In addition, in Western culture our standard of living has gone up considerably over the decades. My grandparents’ generation was content with being a one-car family, and it was a real luxury for them to own a single black-and-white TV. Most of our technology did not even exist (personal computers, wireless communications, electronic gadgets and games). Travel was by bike, car, or train. In today’s economy, “essential” purchases are defined very differently than they used to be. In other words, we need more money to cover the “basics” as we know them today.

It’s no wonder we’re such a stressed out society!

Here are some alarming statistics:

• Among European workers, 6 out of 10 suffer from work stress.
• Among US employees, 1 in 3 feels chronically overworked.
• More than 2 of every 3 Canadians find it difficult to balance family life with work.
• Estimates report that over 600 million workers (22% of the global workforce) spend more than 48 hours a week at their job.
• In Japan, about 10,000 people die annually from overwork (called “karoshi” – death from overwork).

These long work hours can result in strained relationships, poor parenting, divorce, and bad health. Chronic overwork has been linked to obesity, alcoholism, heart disease, workplace accidents, drug dependency, anxiety, fatigue, depression, and many other stress-related disorders.

Are you working too hard? If not, you may be among the millions who are presently unemployed or underemployed.

Although we should work to live -- not live to work -- in these challenging economic times, it has become a greater challenge to balance work with rest and leisure while also caring for the needs of a family and paying the bills.

So what’s the solution to this runaway merry-go-round we seem to be on? How do we get off long enough to smell the roses…or to even notice that there are roses to smell?

It’s time to think outside the box!

What can you do to build more balance into your life, while also doing what’s necessary so you can pay the bills?

I’ll share four ideas that will assist you in getting off the out-of-control merry-go-round:
1.Reduce expenses.
2.Increase income or barter.
3.Plan for the future.

4.Use time more productively.

REDUCE EXPENSES

You may be surprised how much money you spend monthly on habits that cost just a few dollars here and there. This “little stuff” can collectively add up to a lot of money – money that could be directed in ways that could reduce your stress and provide a better quality of life for you right now.

Do you have a written budget? Do you know where your money is going? If not, it’s time to start paying attention. Here are some common examples of undetected “leaks” in the budget:

• Fast food or going out to eat frequently when you are not traveling.
• Ordering lots of extras when dining out (beverage, appetizer, dessert, etc.). These extras can easily double your dining bill, and they also significantly increase your caloric intake.
• Alcohol, tobacco, or recreational drugs
• Buying prepared beverages (coffee, lattes, etc.) instead of making your own
• Purchasing things at the store, in a catalog, or advertised on TV that were not on your list (impulse shopping)
• Signing up for a “free” 30 day trial and forgetting to cancel it before the end of the 30 days if you don't want it
• Subscriptions to publications you don’t have time to read
• Monthly fees that show up on your credit card for services you have subscribed to – are they valuable or necessary? Are you using the service? 
• Books you purchase and don’t read more than once or at all (could be borrowed from the library for free in the future)

Regardless of what your income is, do you consistently put a portion away in a savings account each month so you have something to fall back on in case of dire emergency? When you cut back on some of the things on the list above, you’ll be able to redirect that money to a savings account.

Do you plan ahead for errands, so you are economizing on your time, gas, and wear-and-tear on the car? What about walking or riding your bike to run some errands or attend some activities? This is good for your health and can save some money, so there’s a double benefit here!

Do you use coupons or take advantage of discount specials? With the Internet, it’s very easy to do comparison shopping for the same item, and you can save quite a bit of money doing so. Be sure you pay attention to variables like the cost of shipping & handling if you are comparing the sale price of something you are buying online.

Do you save energy when you can? Do you turn lights and appliances off when you are not using them? Do you have a thermostat that changes temperature when you are away at work or sleeping?

Keep a journal for one week and jot down every dime you spend. At the end of the week, add up the total for common items so you have a clear picture of where your money is going. You may be surprised!

As you review your habits, ask yourself these questions:
1.What do I want to START that I have not been doing?
2.What do I want to STOP that does not serve me to continue doing?
3.What do I want to CONTINUE doing?

GENERATE INCOME OR BARTER

If finances are tight, you may hear yourself saying, “I can’t afford to get help with the chores and responsibilities that contribute to me feeling exhausted.” If you had to pay for these things out-of-pocket, it may not be in the budget. But there is another way.

All of us have certain activities that we love doing. They bring us pleasure and feel effortless when we do them. It doesn’t feel like work when we do them because we enjoy the activity. We also have other activities that we dread doing and those feel very much like work.

Find someone to barter with -- you do something for them and they do something for you of equal value.

Example: You love to cook and your neighbor dreads cooking. Your neighbor is an amazing photographer and your son is graduating from high school and needs some senior portraits. You barter services. Your neighbor takes the photos and you double some recipes you are already cooking for your family, so you can provide some ready-to-heat meals for the neighbor.

If bartering is not something you want to do, perhaps someone is happy to pay you for things you love to do. These funds will enable you to hire someone else to do the chores you don’t enjoy.

Below is a list of some activities to help get you started. I suggest you make two lists of your own: (1) Activities you’d enjoy doing; (2) Activities you want someone else to do. Then share your two lists with others and see what you can either barter or hire/get paid to do.

Here are some ideas:

   supervising repair or delivery people, etc.)

Some of the activities listed above may require that you be licensed, so be careful that you don’t offer something you are not legally qualified to offer for pay or trade with someone else. You also need to be aware of liability issues. 

If you need professional work done by a dentist, orthodontist, doctor, chiropractor, lawyer, etc, and you cannot afford the work, ask if they would consider bartering for a service you provide.

Some of these activities can be done virtually. In other words, you could do them or have them done for you by someone who is not in your geographic area, so think of family or friends you know from afar who you could barter with.

For much of the work mentioned above, ads can be placed free of charge in weekend shopping flyers or on supermarket notice boards. You can also place free ads at www.craigslist.com or send an email out to groups of people you know locally. Social networking is another way to spread the word about services you want to offer or need help with. Be careful how much personal info you divulge until you build some trust. Never post personal information, such as where you live.

What strategic alliances can you form with others that will be mutually beneficial? Think outside the box!

PLAN FOR THE FUTURE

“If you keep doing what you’re doing,
You’ll keep getting what you’re getting.
One definition of insanity is to keep doing the
same things and expecting different results.”
--Stephen Covey

Once you have alleviated some of the immediate time and financial pressures you’re currently experiencing, it’s time to come up with a long-term solution. The ideas above are only a quick fix. I just read an outstanding book by Robert Kiyosaki, author of best-seller Rich Dad Poor Dad. In his brand new book, The Business of the 21st Century, here are some excerpts from Chapter 1:

When I was a kid, my parents taught me the same formula for success that you probably learned: Go to school, study hard, and get good grades so you can get a secure high-paying job with benefits—and your job will take care of you.

But that’s Industrial Age thinking, and we’re not in the Industrial Age anymore. Your job is not going to take care of you. The government will not take care of you. Nobody’s going to take care of you. It’s a new century, and the rules have changed.

My parents believed in job security, company pensions, Social Security, and Medicare. These are all worn-out, obsolete ideas left over from an age gone by.

The corporate myth is over. If you’ve spent years climbing the corporate ladder, have you ever stopped to notice the view? What view, you ask? The rear end of the person in front of you. That’s what you get to look forward to. If you want a solid future, you need to create it. You can take charge of your future only when you take control of your income source. You need your own business.

Many of us were promised this dream: Go to college and get a degree, and that will secure you a good job. Before you continue reading, I want to emphasize that I am college-educated and I would not trade that for anything. But simply going to college does not guarantee a well-paying and secure job.

How many people do you know today who bought into this dream who are currently unemployed or under-employed? Once I graduated, I was disappointed to discover that my college degree did not yield the job I had hoped for. My first job out of college paid me $8600 a year plus benefits. My husband and I had to live on that while also making payments on my educational loans and getting him through medical school. Four years later when he graduated and I left that job, I was making a whopping $10,400 as a college graduate!

Today’s college graduates are facing some harsh realities as they look for a job in an economy where even experienced workers are being laid off, or jobs are being outsourced to overseas workers for a fraction of the pay most of us would be willing to accept for the same work.

Do you see the picture I’m painting here? All I want you to do is think about the big picture.

In order to make more money, you have to do something different. And I don’t mean working more hours on the job. Western society has been doing that for years and nothing has changed much. Your lifestyle will never change if you don’t change what you’re doing.

I’m NOT saying that you should stop working a job you love to start your own business.  For example, my husband teaches medical students at a university, and he loves what he does. I asked him one day, "If we were independently wealthy, would you do anything different professionally?"  He said he would keep teaching, because he loves it.

What I AM saying is that it’s time to put a Plan B in place. I used to believe that starting my own business would require hundreds of thousands of dollars and working at it full time. Just over four years ago I started a business on the side for $400 and by my second month in business I was profitable.

In last month’s article, Undervalued? Leverage the Skills You Already Have!, I addressed the importance of leveraging your time. You can only work so many hours in the day, so when you trade time for dollars (in your own business or working for someone else), you put a cap on how much you can earn.

The wealthy have figured out how to leverage their time, and that’s how they’ve become wealthy. I have found a way to leverage my time and I encourage you to do the same. If you’re feeling discouraged and defeated by the current economic climate, read Robert Kiyosaki’s book to learn more about a business model that is rapidly growing in popularity, and for good reason. Millions of people are adopting this model, which I have adopted over the last four years as part of my long-term wealth generation plan. Kiyosaki’s book, The Business of the 21st Century, will open your eyes to incredible possibility!

If you’re curious how I have completely transformed my ability to generate income in this economy, click here and I’ll share how I’ve done it.

USE TIME MORE PRODUCTIVELY

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