Quiet The Chaos! Work-Life Balance Tips That Work

By Carmen Coker

Have you ever been at home, and yet thinking of something that needs to be done at work? Or been at work, and yet thinking of something that needs to be done at home?

No matter if you try to separate them, your personal life and work life are intrinsically linked. That is to say, if you feel unbalanced personally, then that feeling can bleed into your work life and leave you feeling unbalanced professionally – or vice versa.  This is a fact that many articles with work-life balance tips fail to mention.

This linkage is especially problematic for women who tend to become emotionally attached to both home and office, and it even affects celebrities, who typically have assistants to help them manage their mounting to-do list. Kelly Ripa, co-host of Live! with Kelly and Michael, shared: “I’m like any working mom. When I’m at work, I’m remembering what I forgot to do for the kids, and when I’m with the kids, I’m remembering what I forgot to do at work.”

When you are feeling unbalanced, in order to find relief, you must become aware of your clutter.

Now, you may be thinking: “I know where my clutter is! I trip over it every morning on the way to the bathroom.”

But that’s just the problem! We tend to think of clutter as “stuff” in our space: piles of paper on the desk, clusters of toys on the rug, and mounds of mail on the kitchen counter.

While this is true, there are other types of clutter that can creep into your life.

For example:

• Do you over-commit to people, organizations, or causes? Then you have something that clutters your schedule.

• Do you have someone in your life that bleeds your energy and patience, so much so that the very mention of their name causes you great stress? Then you have something that clutters your spirit.

• Do you look for a distraction, like a TV show, whenever you know you have work to be done? Then you have something that clutters your habit patterns.

Clutter can permeate more than just your surroundings; clutter can permeate all or parts of you. In the same respect, organizing is more than managing your belongings. Organizing is managing you – all parts of you – so that you feel balanced and in control.

So the next time you seem discombobulated … stressed … overwhelmed … chaotic … unbalanced … then examine the areas of your life – both at home and at work – that need to be de-cluttered. This will ultimately help you pinpoint the source of the problem so that you can find relief fast.

Carmen Coker is a former US Air Force officer turned professional organizer. If you want to get organized and calm the chaos in your life, go to CarmenCoker.com for her free video how-to called the Secrets of the Super Organized™.