An extract from the book ‘Stress proof your business and your life’ written for the clients of Keen Dicey Grover by Steve Pipe and Elisabeth Wilson.

“I refuse to call it work-life. It should be life-work. And that’s what achieving it entails – a life-work, unless of course, you’ve read this idea.

One of the most pernicious things about stress is the way we don’t notice how it switches our attention away from what we value and love in life until its too late. So here are some clues to look out for as indicators that work stress is stomping all over your life-work balance.

1. Do you feel like your day is spent dealing with difficult people and difficult tasks?
2. Do you feel that those you love don’t have a clue what’s going on with you and you don’t have a clue what’s going on with them?
3. Do you regularly make time for the activities that nourish your soul?
4. Do you feel you could walk out the door of your house and no one would notice you were gone until the mortgage had to be paid?

Yes, you guessed it! Number 3 was a trick question. Answer yes to that one and you’re probably alright. Answer yes to the rest and you could be in trouble.

In a nutshell: make sure you’re putting time and effort into the people and activities that make your heart sing and it really is very difficult to buckle under the effect of stress.

But I think too much emphasis is put on the stress caused by the work part of the equation and not enough placed on the stress caused by the life bit. Everyone assumes that all we need is less work, more life and all wold be harmonious balance. I’m not so sure.

Where it has gone wrong for so many, is that they’ve cleared enough time for the life part of the equation but not taken into account that it isn’t necessarily restful or enjoyable. This is no idle observation. Research shows that men’s stress hormones tend to fall when they get home whereas women’s stay high after the working day, presumably because they get home to confront a dozen chores and hungry kids. Your children may be the reason you get out of bed in the morning but you need to accept that spending time with them is not necessarily any less stressful than work – in fact, it often makes work seem like a walk in the park. More time with your kids is not necessarily the answer.

More time with yourself, very probably, is.

That old saying is true – if you don’t look after yourself, you can’t look after anyone else. And all it takes is just ten minutes a day. Ten minutes of selfishness every day is enough to make a profound difference in your ability to achieve a life-balance that works.”

Here at Keen Dicey Grover we know how important it is to remove as much stress as we can from our clients lives by making it our job to worry about the numbers. By ensuring our clients are assured and informed, they can be confident that they have the time to work on growing their business and making room to enjoy their life.

Keen Dicey Grover
We care……….we really care.

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