Can You Maintain Life Balance When Traveling for Work?

Posted On July 12, 2011 2 Comments

work life balance business travelIs work-life balance possible when you travel frequently for work?  It’s a question I’ve struggled with over the last three years, and am especially mindful of right now while I’m on the road.

I’ve mentioned before that I travel quite a bit for work.  Some times of the year are busier than others, and June and July are my busiest travel months.

In fact, I started writing this post from the San Diego International Airport last Thursday night, while waiting for my red-eye flight home.  I’d been there 3 days.  Then I enjoyed two wonderful, but short, days at home with my family – we went to the beach both days.

On Sunday I drove 13 hours to Roanoke, Virginia where I’m finishing this post before I hit the road to my next destination.

During these busy travel times, when my days are filled with a lot of driving and meetings, I often find it difficult to maintain my regular routines and keep up on some things that are important to me: [Read more…]

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Weeding Out Your Life to Get More Balance

Posted On June 30, 2011 2 Comments

Finding work-life balance by pulling weeds from your lifeI just read a post over at Productivity Hacks on how to weed out your business to be more productive. The author explained that in tough economic times, people and businesses often ask themselves, “What can we do without?”

Of course, there are some core things, like customers and products, that no businesses can do without. But other things seep in or creep in over time.  They may have once seemed to be important or vital, but really aren’t so now, once we start to ask the question.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve observed that it’s more often in the tough times when we ask, “What can we do without?” I think it’s because we have to, or are forced to, due to certain conditions we face.

But it’s not just about finances and money. [Read more…]

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Filed Under: Money, Productivity, Work-Life Balance 2 Comments

Peer-to-Peer Loans Can Help You Finance Your Business Start-up

Posted On June 23, 2011 4 Comments

Peer to Peer LendingIf you’ve ever wanted to start your own business, either full or part time, you know that one of the biggest obstacles to starting a small business is raising start-up capital.

Last week, in an article entitled, Peer-to-Peer Loans Grow, the Wall Street Journal shared how a growing number of small business owners are getting loans through the use of peer-to-peer lending sites such as Prosper and Lending Club.

According to the WSJ, these sites “work like eBay-style marketplaces, matching prequalified borrowers to lenders.”

Together, Prosper and Lending Club have generated more than $500 million in loans over the last five years. [Read more…]

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Filed Under: Be Your Own Boss, Money 4 Comments

How to Innovate Your Job or Industry

Posted On June 21, 2011 1 Comment

how to innovate your job or industryLast time, in 10 Industries where the jobs aren’t coming back, I suggested you may want to avoid working in the top 10 declining industries in the U.S., as they are expected to continue their downward slide and/or die over the next five years.

While it may be too late, in general, for these industries to ever come back and employ growing numbers of people, does that mean there’s no room for innovation or for one company or person to take advantage of another’s decline?

Too Late to Innovate?

Personally, I think there are great opportunities for innovation in certain niches within these declining sectors of our economy, or for some businesses to grow while capitalizing on the failure of others. [Read more…]

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10 Industries Where the Jobs Aren’t Coming Back

Posted On June 20, 2011 Leave a Comment

As the U.S. enters its third “summer of recovery,” everyone’s still wondering where the jobs are.  While the economy does show signs of improvement in some sectors, it is still stagnant in others.

Let’s face it:  Some industries will never come back, even after the economy revives.

If you want to build your career in an industry that is poised for growth, here are ten industries you may want to avoid according to Toon Van Beeck, Senior Analyst at IBISWorld.

10 Dying Industries

These ten industries are in the decline phase of their life cycle, are experiencing sizeable contraction in revenue, and are expected to see further deterioration over the next five years: [Read more…]

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Want More Work-Life Balance? You May Need to Move!

Posted On June 6, 2011 1 Comment

Best countries for work life balanceIf you want to achieve more work-life balance, you may have to move.  To Europe.  To Denmark, to be precise.

Denmark is the top country in the world for work-life balance, according to a recent study released by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.

The study ranked the level of work-life balance according to three indicators:

  • Average amount of time each day spent on leisure and personal care
  • Percentage of employees who work on average more than 50 hours a week
  • Employment rate for women with school-age children

The findings revealed that Danes devote 68 percent of their day – 16.3 hours – to personal care (defined as “eating, sleeping, etc”) and leisure (“socializing with friends and family, hobbies, games, computer and television use, etc.”).

Only 0.02% of Danes work more than 50 hours a week.  And 78% of Danish mothers go back to work once their children are in school. [Read more…]

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