Balancing Work and Life

by Bill Butterworth; Water Brook Press, 2006

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the subject of work-life imparted by this book will
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provides readers the kind their lives at work and
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that will help bring back must read for those who
order in their sometimes constantly struggle with
hectic lives. balance in their lives.
read the summary

INSIDE THIS SUMMARY:

 The Big Idea
 Learning about Balance from the Track Team
Ÿ Living a Balanced Life
Ÿ The Causes of Life's Imbalance
– The Hazies
– The Lazies
– The Crazies

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Learning about Balance from the
Track Team
Life is like a race. It's a cliché, but it's true
nonetheless. The only question is what kind of
race are you running in life? To help you determine
which it is, consider the following two kinds of
races:
a.) Marathons. These are the long races,
the ones that demand the most out of runners.
Long distance runners are renowned for their
endurance and total commitment to the task;
not for their speed.
b.) Sprints. Short races are known as
sprints, and those that run this type of race are
known for their speed and quickness. Their
race is over in matter of seconds, minutes at
the most.
People who live life in the fast lane are running
life's race at a sprint. You will find them in many of
America's corporations. These people usually
work very long hours, often in disregard of their
health and their relationships with their families
and other people. They may get to the top faster
than most people, but they may not enjoy the fruits
of their labor for a long time.
The Causes of Life's Imbalance
On the other hand, there are people who run life's
race at a pace. These are the people who live life
as if it was a marathon. Their lifestyles epitomize
endurance and commitment. They may not reach
the peak that quickly, but they are more likely to
enjoy their success longer than the “sprinters.”
The problem is that most Americans want to have
it both ways. They run life's marathon at a sprint-
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Author: Bill Butterworth
Publisher: Water Brook Press
Date of Publication: 2006
ISBN : 1578569648
No. of Pages: 105 pages
Balancing Work and Life by Bill Butterworth
like speed. This simply cannot be done. It is one
thing to run a sprint; it is quite another matter to
run a marathon.
Living a Balanced Life
Balancing your career and your personal life is
just like any other endeavor. You got to work on
it. It is not going to happen if you do not make it
happen.
Do not think of balance as a tug of war between
two issues. To achieve greater balance in life,
you need to understand and live your priorities
in your everyday life.
You also need to stay organized; to pace
yourself; to stay connected to people; and to
make time for learning, fun, and reflection. You
may find it hard to believe, but it is possible to
have a successful career and a rich personal
life. It may not be easy, but it is possible.
You are suffering from a severe case of
imbalance if:
Ÿ your family feels neglected because you
spend more time at work than at home;
Ÿ your work is becoming more frantic with
each passing day;
Ÿ you can't seem to find enough time to
accomplish everything that you need to do;
and,
Ÿ you feel trapped and powerless to make
the needed changes to put order and
peace back to your life.
Most cases of imbalance are a result of the
hazies or losing sight of your long term goals;
the lazies or lacking the self discipline to
balance your life; and the cazies or allowing life
to get out of control. Each of these problems
can be overcome using the three “clarifying
triangles” the Priorities Triangle, the Endurance
Triangle, and the Pacing Triangle.
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These “clarifying triangles” will help clarify your
priorities; teach you the discipline of
endurance; and help you reach the finish line
through skillful pacing. Moreover, they will
inspire and guide you towards balancing
excellence at work with fulfillment in all areas of
life.
The Hazies
People who suffer from the “hazies” have lost
sight of their long-term goals in life. Their vision
is clouded. People who suffer from the hazies
know what they are supposed to do. They also
know their priorities and goals in life; they just
have a problem focusing on them.
What these people need to do is to clarify their
goals, and work on the distractions and
dysfunctions that divert their attention and
energies. They don't need books or people to
tell them what their priorities are. What they
need is focus, and help in living their priorities.
Not all distractions are bad. Nonetheless, if you
always let yourself get distracted, you will
eventually lose sight of your goals. Hence, it is
imperative for people suffering from the hazies
to really focus, and develop the self-discipline
needed to keep them on track.
The Priorities Triangle
The Priorities Triangle
ATTENTION CONNECTION
REFLECTION
The Priorities Triangle emphasizes the
importance of focusing on your goals, despite
the presence of distractions. The three areas of
the Priorities Triangle are:
 Attention. This refers to the tasks that
you attempt in business or in life.
Balancing Work and Life by Bill Butterworth
 Connection. This speaks about the
relationships that you form in business or in
life.
 Reflection. This relates to your time for
quiet introspection.
The key to making the Priorities Triangle work is to
determine where your natural inclination lies. If
you are more task-oriented, then you are more
focused on the Attention aspect of the triangle.
You are the type of person who will do whatever is
necessary to get the job done. On the other hand,
if you are more relationship-oriented, then you are
more focused on the Connection aspect of the
triangle. You use your social skills to inspire those
around you to do their fair share in completing the
task.
Both approaches get the job done; however,
neither one, on its own, is better than the other.
You need to strike a balance between Attention
and Connection. This is where Reflection comes
in. Spending some quiet time meditating about
your life will enable you to come up with a plan that
will allow you to capitalize on your strengths, and
improve on your weakness.
Keeping a journal will greatly help in this task. A
journal allows you to record everything that
happens in your life, including your thoughts and
feelings about them. This way, you can ponder on
these events later on and see, from a more
objective stance, whether or not your actions have
brought you closer to your goals. By spending
time reflecting on these things, you will be able to
manage the distractions in your life, and ascertain
if you are doing the things that are really important
to you.
The Lazies
People suffering from the lazies lack the self-
discipline needed to bring their lives back into
balance. They typically blame others or life in
general for the imbalance in their lives. What they
don't realize is that change will only come about if
they take responsibility for their lives, and make
the necessary sacrifices to bring back balance in
their lives.
People afflicted with the lazies are normally found
in the corporate world. These people work long
hours just to maintain their presence in the
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company, while ignoring the strain it creates on
their personal lives. This is most true among
American career women.
Although they are aware of their problems, lazies
are often reluctant to make the fundamental
changes to fix their lives. Rather, they shift the
blame and make others responsible for what is
happening to their lives.
The Endurance Triangle
The Endurance Triangle
FORECAST FOCUS
FUN
The Endurance Triangle is the antidote to the
lazies. Its three areas are:
Ÿ Forecast. Planning your day and setting
clear short-term goals.
Ÿ Focus. Acting appropriately on the plans
that you have made.
Ÿ Fun. Spending some quality time with your
family relaxing and having fun.
If you find yourself infected with the lazies, you
need to understand and realize that life is not
necessarily about having it all right now. You are
more than your career. Be patient and reduce
significantly the pressures in your life.
There will be times when things won't go
according to your plans. Don't be discouraged.
Instead, learn to endure these setbacks and come
up with an alternative. There are many solutions
out there; you just need to apply some creativity in
searching for the right answer to your troubles.
Besides, family members will be more than willing
to accommodate, as long as you keep your
promise to spend that needed quality time with
them.
Creating balance in your work and family life is
difficult. It may be hard at first, but the more you
work on it, the more it will succeed. What's
Balancing Work and Life by Bill Butterworth
important is that you are doing something positive
to change things in your life. Nevertheless, it is also
very important that you do not rush things. Think
things through and make plans that are attainable
and workable.
The Crazies
The epidemic known as the crazies happens when
people lose control of their lives. Often, people
struggling against the crazies are in a frantic state
on any given day. This happens because they
agree to “do whatever it takes” to get the job done.
They may go to sleep feeling successful, but deep
inside they have this gnawing feeling that
something is missing in their lives.
Cases of the crazies are not limited to the corporate
world. It can affect everybody, no matter what they
do in life. Some of the common imbalances in the
life of a person besieged with the crazies are:
Ÿ all job, no home;
Ÿ all kids, no spouse;
ABOUT THE AUTHORS:
Bill Butterworth’s extraordinary ability to
blend humor, story-telling, wisdom and
practicality has made him one of the most
sought after speakers in venues
throughout North America. Through his wit,
warmth, insight, and realism, he brings
help and hope to his audiences
everywhere.
Bill taught at the college level for thirteen years and was a
counselor for six years prior to his current passion for
motivating men and women in the workplace. Because of his
remarkable abilities, Bill was awarded The Hal Holbrook
Award by the International Platform Association, whose past
and present members include Mark Twain, Theodore
Roosevelt, Bob Hope, and Elizabeth Dole. They consider
him one of the select few to be named a Top Rated Speaker.
In the writing world, Bill’s latest contribution is a series of
business books with the overall title On The Fly. The first two
books are called On The Fly Guide to Balancing Work and
Life and On The Fly Guide to Building Successful Teams.
They are being published by WaterBrook Press, a division of
Random House. Besides the On The Fly series, Bill has
written over a dozen books including The Promise of the
Second Wind and When Life Doesn’t Turn Out Like You
Planned.
To k n o w m o r e a b o u t t h e a u t h o r, go to:
http://www.billbutterworth.com/
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 Ÿ all work, no play; and, enjoy life upon their retirement.
Ÿ all others, no self.
You don't have to live your life like this. The trick to
leading a more balanced life is to learn how to
constantly move through each of these three
The Pacing Triangle
areas. For example, you could teach your children
the value of work by encouraging them to work
The Pacing Triangle part-time after school. In so doing, they will learn
to embrace work the way they do learning and
LEARNING LABOR leisure at an early age.

Likewise, for those who are already working,

include some form of leisure in your work. Working
can be fun if you make it so; just don't forget to
have fun outside of work as well. You could also go
back to school and take a class for personal
LEISURE enrichment, or read a book just for the fun of it;
although enrolling in a class that will advance your
career is not bad either. The point here is, there is
nothing wrong with combining leisure and
To beat the crazies, you must pursue and practice
learning in a way that helps you on your job. Not
pacing in your life. Just as a long-distance runner
only will it make you a more effective and
paces himself, so should you. Remember, life is
productive worker, it will also make your job more
more like a marathon than a sprint. If you run too
worthwhile.
fast early in the race, you will only end up burning
yourself out even before the race is over.
Conversely, for those who have already retired, a
state of permanent stagnancy is never desirable.
Master and apply the principles of the Pacing
Retirement is great; however, spending your
Triangle in your life. That is the key to achieving a
retirement days doing nothing is not. Remember,
successful and balanced life. The three areas of
life-long learning, life-long labor, and life-long
the Pacing Triangle are:
leisure. It's a proven strategy for a successful and
 Learning. This refers to the area of balanced life. Make it yours.
education.
 Labor. This refers to the area of work.
 Leisure. This refers to the area of fun and
recreation.

People go through each of these three areas in

stages. To give you an idea, children, as soon as
they are able, start attending schools to learn and
be educated. They go to school so they can get a
good job in the future. Once they grow up and
finish with school, they then start making a living.
During this time, many will spend countless hours
working with little time for fun and recreation.
Moreover, most of them will only begin to really

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