"Life-Work Balance" is the first issue of a new occasional series published by ACRL. This series will provide practical guidance on workplace and professional issues. "Life-Work Balance" helps you assess your current balance and provides tools for planning and making changes.Are you living and working the way you want to? Or are you counting on cloning technology to eventually save you from a frantic schedule and a 'to do' list as long as the Oxford English Dictionary? This active guide will give you a chance to reflect on your priorities and honestly assess the choices you are making about your time and energy. Simply reading this book won't lighten your workload, alter other people's expectations, or make stress disappear.However, if you apply the concepts and tools you learn here and commit to following through, you will discover new ways of both thinking and acting that will help you make decisions that support who you want to be and what you want to achieve. These decisions will often be difficult and may challenge organizational norms, other people's value systems, or even your own assumptions.
But, defining what balance looks like for you, recognizing what you can change, and creating an action plan will bring you closer to achieving your personal and professional goals. You can begin by trying out a few of the simple but powerful ideas and exercises here.