Article taken from The Miami Herald.
BY CINDY KRISCHER GOODMAN
cgoodman@MiamiHerald.com
Juggling too many demands? Setting priorities and staying flexible are among the critical assets for business owners.
At the ungodly hour of 7:30 a.m., 29 female senior level executives are gathered around a conference room table. I am among them, seated at the table to share my work life balance insights. Instead, just during introductions, I get an eye-opening look at modern-day challenges of professional women who have made it to the top in their professions and want a fulfilling personal life. If you think earning a good salary makes the juggling easier, here's some enlightenment: These women must perform at the top of their game, while taking care of young kids, elderly parents, needy spouses and demanding clients, partners and customers. These are the tools they use to keep their business and home lives better balanced:
Mobility. Customers don't really care where you are as long as you are accessible. Randi Grant, a director at Berkowitz Dick Pollack Brant in Fort Lauderdale, uses her Bluetooth to free herself from sitting at her desk all day. The nifty hands-free cellphone device allows her to give tax-consulting advice from the beauty salon, her car or a restaurant. ``If I'm on a cell I can have a conference call with clients from anywhere.''
Multi-tasking. Leslie Linevsky, co-founder of Catalogs.com , runs her own company and cares for her three children and elderly mother. ``It requires a lot of juggling,'' she said. ``I really believe in multi-tasking to the max.'' Just this week, Linevsky was preparing a holiday meal, supervising sales people from her cell, connecting with contacts from her laptop on the kitchen counter and watching her kids. ``I feel though if I'm not multitasking, I'm laying dormant.''
Delegate. Are five personal assistants too much? Not for Carol Lasek, a financial services provider for nurses and medical professionals. Lasek has four kids and 22 employees. It took a personal coach to make Lasek realize that her time is more valuable sitting in her office doing financial planning for her medical clientele, than running errands and cooking dinner. These days, she barters personal financial services in exchange for getting those personal assistants help her life run more smoothly.
Network to save time. Joining certain organizations pays off. Public relations executive Barbara Goldberg finds belonging to this group of female executives, The Women's Executive Circle of the Jewish Federation of Broward County, saves her time searching for service professionals. She found an accountant and lawyer through the group. ``It gave me instant access to bright professionals. Getting to know them saved me time checking references and starting from scratch.''
Flexibility. Step back from the daily juggle and look at your options. Charlene Golden, a senior manager at Crowe Horwath has negotiated an alternative work schedule at her accounting firm. She works in overdrive during the school year and busy tax season, when she's most needed. Then, she takes summers off, saving the firm money and giving her time with her kids.
Make chaos acceptable. Consider a Zen approach to work life balance. Joanne Kunin, an accounting recruiter, finds life can get chaotic with two kids, a job, a spouse and a bar mitzvah in the works.
She now gives herself permission to walk into her chaotic home and soak it all in without feeling guilty. ``I've just learned to let things go and feel comfortable in the middle of chaos.''
Exercise. Make your health No. 1 on your to-do list. Laura Goldblum, president and CFO of Fine Art Lamps in Miami Lakes and mother of two, says throughout the years, she has felt guilty about everything -- working long hours, taking time off from work. Waking up early to exercise has helped her steal a little bit of me time without the guilt. ``That's the one thing I've never given up,'' she says.
Family matters. This becomes more evident as you get older. Deborah Berkowitz, a partner at the law firm of Ruden McClosky, says her new granddaughter has taught her a lot about balance. Suddenly, in between filing trademark registrations or pursuing copyright infringement, she's looking at photos and figuring out when she can take her next vacation day to visit with her newest family member in New York.
Cindy Krischer Goodman is CEO of BalanceGal LLC, a provider of news and advice on how to balance work and life. She can be reached at balancegal@gmail.com or read her columns and blogs at http://worklifebalancingact.com.
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