Page 180 - South Mississippi Living - September, 2021

HEALTHY LIVING
The
story by Luke Height
Binds
That Tie
Maintaining Personal Relationships
Many of us are hardworking and dedicated professionals that are constantly refining our craft, elevating our businesses and diligently aiming to raise the bar. Having such big goals in mind, sometimes it seems our whole life revolves around work. This doesn’t leave much space for our personal relationships and can make life feel off balance.
Now more than ever our work life makes its way into our personal life. With endless access to us, work is constantly begging for our attention. When we wake up in the morning we often jump to answer an email, send a message to a client, boss or coworker and are immediately swept up into one task after another.
So where does this leave space for our personal relationships? It doesn’t. If we let work take over our life, it will. It’s important to develop some sound strategies for navigating the never-ending world of work so we can make time for the ones we love.
Julie Morgenstern, productivity/organization consultant and an expert in the field of work/life balance has a few strategies from
her book Never Check E-Mail In The Morning that we can use to keep our personal relationships getting the attention they need:
• Say “Hello,” instead of asking, “Who made this mess?” when
you first get home.
• Balance your friendships. Don’t always hang out with the
same person. Mix it up.
• Find common interests with the people you love.
• Stay on top of holidays and birthdays. Reach out to family
and friends and make the importance of the relationship known. • Create a routine. Make every Friday night a time to meet with
friends or go on a date with your partner. It takes the guessing out of it and schedules time for loved ones in your planner.
In our crazy lives today, these strategies can help keep our important relationships with family, friends and partners alive and well. Having a healthy work/life balance can make us more productive and allow us to savor what makes life worth living.
180 | September 2021
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