One of the very interesting topic and the most common enquires for our Life is how can you improve balance between life and work effectively. Work-Life Balance does not mean an equal balance. Trying to schedule an equal number of hours for each of your various work and personal activities is usually unrewarding and unrealistic. Life is and should be more fluid than that. There is a need to have balance in your life for good physical, mental and emotional health. Some people have a difficult time giving themselves a chance to recharge, reflect and be playful. They work long hours and weekends. They have a hard time tearing themselves away from their work. People often work emails at home, indeed with their blackberry and PDS's. Its quite amazing technology, but the sad point there is "he was interrupted and it takes 5-10min's to get back to their concentration level".

Setting healthy boundaries is essential for a healthy work life balance. That sounds true, but what does it mean? What do healthy boundaries look like, and how can you know where and how to set them? Set boundaries for your workday. For instance, you may decide that you will not arrive at work before a certain time and you won’t work later than a specific hour. I advise you to consider that you won’t work through lunch. Schedule your lunchtime just like any appointment. Decide day by day whether it will be for your relaxation. Examine your boundaries, and notice if they are giving you room to live and to do your best work or cramping your style. Experiment with moving your boundaries out a bit, not to keep your customers away, but to create a bigger space from which you can serve them maintaining a healthy work life balance.

Workaholism has become a serious problem for many people nowadays. In fact, according to the latest numbers from the International Labour Organization, U.S. workers put in an average of 1,815 hours compared to major European economies, where hours worked ranged from around 1,300 to 1,800. It is clearly a disorder, like alcoholism or addiction to gambling. When someone is overworked, creativity, productivity, communication and cooperation drops off a cliff. Workaholics typically continue to work past the point of exhaustion, causing them to make mistakes and work even harder to fix them.

How to overcome:

If you find it difficult to take some time off, start slowly. Begin with leaving the office early one evening, then take off a full day, followed by 2 days, etc. Try leaving the briefcase at home when you are going out with the family. Also, focus on what you do best. Think about what other talents you have, besides work, and make time to do them. 

Priotize your work. Decide which are the most important things to do first. And try to stay flexible, reorganizing priorities as needed. Try substituting. This means you do not add a new activity without eliminating from your schedule one that demands the same amount of time and energy. 

Managing Work Load Managing a heavy workload requires an efficient work style. It is sometimes very hard to see a solution to the problem when a feeling of overwhelm abounds. Make efficient use of time at work place. 

Schedule your family time first – i.e. set yourself a time that work stops, and stick to it

Specifically set aside time for email, and only answer email during that time – you’ll find yourself ignoring email that doesn’t matter if you don’t have time for it.

Think about your values and write down those that really matter to you. What is most important? Spending time with family? Accumulating great wealth? Achieving powerful influence? Acquiring possessions? Expressing yourself? Learning new ideas? Experiencing adventure and travel? Maintaining excellent health? Socializing with friends? Contributing to the community? You can't do them all. Cut out activities that aren't consistent with your core values.

In this clip Dr. Darryl Cross outlines how to find and keep the delicate balance between work and life.  Check this out.

This is a very personal matter. For some it may be little more than your basic contact time in a week, for others it may be 48 hours or more.  Many people enjoy their work and get a great deal of satisfaction from it. Difficulties only emerge where work impinges upon personal relationships, leisure time, or on your well-being.  It may not simply be about the hours that we work, it can be about the way we organise work around the rest of our lives.