Life Balance

REFLECTION:  In my work with clients to reduce the impact of overload and overwhelm in their lives and workplaces, I’ve noticed how easily those quick fix responses to constant pressures become the daily MO (modus operandi).

Many of those expedient choices work against long term goals like personal and organizational health, productivity and sustainability.

Pausing to be more thoughtful about our choices and actions is a first step in short-circuiting that disconnect. (more…)

REFLECTION: It was late in the evening just before Hallowe’en. I was chatting on the phone with my daughter, and had just recited the litany of tasks tackled so far that day. It had been a demanding day in the office. I had followed up my post-work exercise class by running several errands on the way home. And, I’d invested a couple of hours getting things ready around the house to host a guest for the weekend.

As I finished giving report on my day, I heard myself say, “And I still HAVE TO carve the pumpkin before I can go to bed.”

Wise offspring played back my very own words. “You HAVE TO carve the pumpkin?” I could hear the raised eyebrow in her voice. She knows how much I enjoy creating those Hallowee’en jacks.

And in that moment, I realized I’d just loaded myself down with yet another DB – a Discretionary Burden. (more…)

One of the things I love most about Paris is the pace. Sure, there are places where cars and scooters are whizzing by, the traffic is heavy, and folks seem bent on getting somewhere in a hurry.

However, there are many more places where people are ambling along arm in arm, soaking up the sun on a park bench, or lingering over a coffee at a sidewalk cafe.

I thought you might enjoy are few images I captured of Pausing in Paris. Enjoy!

Sunning In The Tuileries

Snoozing On The Passerelle Solferino over the Seine

Nodding Off Near Notre Dame

(Yep, same afternoon. Nope, not the same girls)

Doggin’ It At The Place De La Concorde

This mosaic is inlaid into the floor at the entrance to the dining room in Villa San Michele atop the island of Capri – a beautiful island across the bay from Naples.

The Villa San Michele was salvaged and restored through the efforts and philanthropy of a Swedish physician, Axel Munthe.

The mosaic features a skeleton holding a wine carafe in one hand and a water jug in the other.

The meaning is that one should enjoy life while one can, as death lurks just around the corner. A sobering thought given that the mosaic is a copy of an image from the ruins of Pompei.

Italy is the home to the slow food movement – a concept that encourages leisurely dining on foods raised and cultivated close to where they are prepared and served.

Apparently some businesses recognize a marketing angle when they see one.

This fast food restaurant on the island of Capri prominently displayed its support for the slow food movement right on its promo sign touting the quick and easy ‘Take Away’. (more…)

According to Harvard researchers a mid day nap is a great way to maintain or increase your productivity through the afternoon hours.

Apparently this phenomenon is not news to the Provencal population in southern France. When the hot summer sun is high in the sky, mid day siestas are nigh on to mandatory. The shops close and business stops to accommodate a bit of refreshing down time.

A chalkboard sign in a St Remy olive oil shop says it this way: “In Provence, the sun rises up twice a day. Once in the morning and once more after the nap!”

Darn right civilized, don’t you think?

Our flight from Toronto to Paris was delayed by two hours while the company air-lifted in a fresh pilot from Montreal. Personally, I like the idea of flying with a well rested pilot at the helm. But, such a commotion there was as people lined up at the counter to air their complaints – voices raised, arms flailing, scowls from ear to ear.

Given that Air Transat deals mostly with vacation travelers, I’m guessing there were very few people on business trips that evening. However, some folks were catching trains or tours out of Paris, and, for a number of them, the window of opportunity to make their connections was squeezing tight. Things were about to get messy for them. (more…)

Ever wonder how to get some relief from collegial interruptions? Try this strategy complements of a recent seminar participant.  Hang a Closed sign on the door to your office.

That’s exactly what one creative individual did about 4:00 on a hectic Friday afternoon. The traffic to her door and desk had been hot and heavy all day long. She decided if she was ever going to get away for the weekend, she had to find a way to stem the endless tide of incoming tasks and questions. And so, up went the sign.

Apparently her action created quite a stir and a lot of laughs. And darned if she didn’t get away from the office at a decent hour. Of course every sign has a flip side, and Monday morning she was once again happily and graciously open for business. 

REFLECTION: In a recent Life Balance seminar that I facilitated, we talked about what makes for a renewing vacation. As you might expect, opinions differed. 

One participant reported her most relaxing vacation involved taking a cruise with her husband and children. She found the experience of being pampered and cared for by others (rooms tidied, meals served, entertainment arranged, technology unplugged) to be a rejuvenating contrast to her daily life.

In fact, she enjoyed the experience so much she has found a way to weave it into the regular flow of life by recreating a variation of the experience on a weekly basis. (more…)