Color-Coding To Improve Work-Life Balance

Outlook Color Categories

As a business, technical, or hospitality professional, you may be wondering at the end of each day why you are so tired.  Or perhaps you wonder why you are not achieving everything in your career that you desire.  Have you ever considered that maybe you need to plan your time in a way that not only allows you to grow in your career area but allows for personal life balance as well?  Taking time for yourself and your career growth not only makes you feel better it assures you are better able to help your associates, team members, or family when the need arises.  Besides setting priorities on a to do list, consider the concept of color coding your weekly time management plan to assure you have a good balance of activities.

• Green –key activities with customers and co-workers that lead to profits for your business in the near term.
• Red – maintenance activities such as updating charts, reviewing and recording data, administrative tasks that keep your records up-to-date.
• Blue – time away from the office for vacation, personal hobbies, or family activities to keep you balanced and reduce stress related to a high-performance work schedule.
• Orange - long-term result activities that further your career including goal setting, attending conferences or training, reading articles or books, and other types of continued education.

Now that you know the color coding idea, take a look at your time management plan for next week and add the colors into your planning system, Do you have a good balance of activities?  If not, see where you can move things around to be sure you are taking time for yourself , your work team, and family, as well as plans for your personal career growth.  Find what motivates you, plan time for it, and you will find yourself not only better balanced but rejuvenated and more motivated.  As a refreshed individual you can become an even greater asset to your chosen profession.