What have you done to improve your work life balance?
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CEO in Software2 years ago
Setting boundaries for family time is key. I was asked to take a two-week trip to Asia when my daughter was four weeks old; when I came back, she was six weeks old and didn't recognize me anymore. I went to work the next day and told my boss, “You can fire me or demote me, but I'm not taking a trip that's longer than two days for another year.” And he said, "Okay, we'll figure it out."
Director of Security Operations in Finance (non-banking)2 years ago
When I left the service, one of the things that I heard an old Sergeant major say was that I could now start to put my family first. So I made a commitment that whenever my wife or my son calls, I answer, because nobody is going to die based on whether or not I answer the phone anymore.
Director of Information Security Operations in Consumer Goods2 years ago
Free vacation days and 1 day in the office bi weeklyDirector, Information Security Engineering and Operations in Manufacturing2 years ago
I block time in my calendar for personal things, and mark it as either “busy” or “out of office”. This allows me for far greater flexibility than the traditional 9 to 5. I give priority to my family much more than what I used to. Director of IT in Software2 years ago
Better management of my time and having specific "time off" during the week where I am fully detached from work (for a few hours) to spend time with family.Setting up "do not disturb" time on the phone and turning off email notifications during the weekend. I still check my emails during the off-time but it's at my pace vs checking them every time the phone buzz.
I leave my phone home when I go out to play with my kids or put it away when we have family/friends time or visitors.
Director of Information Security in Manufacturing2 years ago
Also to spark a bit of discussion; I actually extended my hours a bit, but with a hole in the middle.Just to clarify; I start working really early in the morning when the family is still asleep. This gives me some time to really focus on my inbox or any planned tasks that do not need a lot of interaction with others. The remainder of the morning is for meetings and calls, after which I call it a day, typically around 2 pm.
Afternoon, and Dinner time are for my family, and then after dinner another small round of e-mail catchup.
Net/Net; the number of hours I spend at work did not really reduce, but the time of day dedicated to family works much better in our specific schedule.
1. I never double book meetings.
2. I draw boundaries as to when there is family time.
3. I drive my email queue to zero at least once every two weeks.
I've been doing those things for a long time now, and if I can manage them it allows me to factor in sleep pretty well.