Creating a healthy balance between work and home is no simple task, especially in today's fast paced work environment. With the work life and home life out of balance, stress is running high in most families. If you spend more time at work, you lose out on your family and personal life. Alternately, if you spend more time facing the challenges of your personal life, such as coping with marital problems, or caring for your aging parents ? on top of financial problems, you are unable to concentrate on the job. There is a great need to reclaim control over your life.

Whether you focus too much on your personal life, or your work life, the outcome is the same ? STRESS.

Striking Work-Life Balance

The world has changed, the boundaries have blurred, and work has invaded your personal life. Advancement in communication technology has made people work from anywhere and at any time. This makes you on call 24/7 for trouble shooting or consulting, especially if you are working for an international company.

In the hope of moving up the career ladder in the man-eat-man corporate world, you are working longer hours than is healthy for you. This makes it difficult for you to juggle the demands of your work and family life. A look at how you can face the ongoing challenges to reduce stress, and maintain harmony in work and personal areas of your life:

?Track Your Activities ? Keep a log of all your activities, and delegate the ones you do not enjoy, or do not have the time for.

?Check For Flexibility ? Find out if your employer offers flexible hours for work - to enable you to cope with your personal and domestic problems. Is telecommuting an option on offer too?

?Time Management ? Time management is not only for office work. Manage your time at home also. Organize to do laundry in batches instead of doing it wholesale on your day off. Keep a weekly calendar of family to-do lists. Try to involve your spouse and kids in some daily chores.

?Find Ways To De-stress ? Take out time to do things that you enjoy doing, such as going for walks, listening to music, practicing yoga, reading, etc. Set aside one night a week exclusively for your spouse and family. Put the phone off the hook, switch off the TV, and let your collective hair down. Find activities that will rejuvenate you and your family.

?Ensure Enough Sleep ? There is nothing more stressful as when you are sleep deprived. This will not only affect your productivity, but can also cause you to commit potentially dangerous and costly mistakes.

?Seek Help ? At times of stress, seek help from professionals or from your personal support systems. Talk to your spouse and friends. Every one needs help from time to time and you are no different. Seek help if you find your life too chaotic to manage.

In the end, you need to set your priorities right. What is more important for you ? your work or your family? At the crossroads you need to decide what is more important in your life ? spending time with your spouse, kids, and extended family, or concentrating just on your work life?