Five Consequences
of a Life out of Balance
If you are working more than fifty–five hours a week, you are working
too much and likely out of balance. You may be able to work more than
this for a season, but it is not sustainable. If you persist in working
this much – or more – something will eventually break.
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14
magazine
When I first began my publishing
career, I was determined
to succeed. Part of what drove
me was fear. I didn’t have any experience,
and I was scared to death I would
be found out.
However, I was also driven by the desire
to achieve. I would later learn from
the StrengthsFinder™ test that my top
strength is “Achiever”. As a result, I loved
climbing the corporate ladder, moving
from one level to the next.
In those early years, I would arrive at
the office at 5:00 a.m. and not leave until
6:00 p.m. Since I would usually be at
my desk during lunch, this was thirteen
hours a day. I would almost always go
into the office on Saturday, too. I was routinely
working seventy hours a week.
My dear wife, Gail, was patient, but
with several small children, she really
needed relief. It took some serious marriage
counseling for me to realize that
my work/life balance was totally out of
whack. It was simply not sustainable.
Think of it this way: If you are working
more than fifty–five hours a week, you
are out of balance. You are putting at
risk at least five very important assets.
1Your health. Early in my career,
I thought I could get by by eating
junk food and not exercising.
However, I learned that this will inevitably
catch up with you. How many people
do you know who have died young,
simply because they refused to take care
of themselves?
2Your family. You can’t afford a divorce.
The cost is incalculable.
Just ask those who have gone
through one. You also can’t afford to ignore
your children. If you don’t invest in
them now, you will be forced to spend
time with them later – in rehab, in juve,
or worse.
3Your friends. Sadly, I didn’t really
have any close, personal friends
unt i l about f ive years ago.
I thought that my work colleagues and
church acquaintances were enough. Not
so much. I have several great friends
now that mean the world to me. But
I must have margin in my life to invest
in those relationships.
4Your effectiveness. I think you
are the most productive when
you are relaxed. Work is like golf–
or any sport. The harder you work, the
less effective you’ll be. You are the most
productive when you are not stressed.
The number of hours you work has almost
zero correlation with your effectiveness.
5Your example. Your people will
unconsciously mimic you. They
can’t help it. As a leader you set
the pace. If you work seventy hours
a week, your people will think they must
work seventy hours a week. Most of
them won’t be able to keep up. And
you will be responsible for the consequences.
Don’t get me wrong. I still work hard.
But now I have boundaries–and balance.
I get into the office at 8:30 a.m. and
I leave promptly at 6:00 p.m. I also work
for two hours on Sunday evening, preparing
for the new week. In total that’s
about 50 hours–give or take.
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