Apparently, my post on September 30th hit a nerve as I have been hearing about it! I guess there are lots of us who feel overwhelmed balance family, career, and dealing with all the technology that was supposed to make our lives so much easier and save us so much time (just curious, what are you doing with all your extra time?). Below is her UNEDITED email used with her permission (company info removed at her request). She is a the stage in life where time is more important than money. So like me, she is trying to figure out this work/life balance thing and still make professional contributions while making a living. Here’s her email:

Looking back I have made big changes-but things sneak in and my goals get off track and out of focus too easy:

• I reduced travel (I only make 3-4 trips a year)
• I am targeting a work week of 50-55 hours now (in 2006 the 70-80 workweeks were physically killing me)
• By June 30, 2010 (my husband’s b’day) I plan to go to a 3 day work week or seasonal role. Not sure how or where this will be but this is my target. The tricky part as you know is to find a way to maintain my income with the reduced work hours. Maybe I can find this in the book you mention (The 4-Hour Work Week for those just tuning in).
• Work only a max. of 4 hours on the weekend. I have taken myself out of a leadership role with no direct reports. I am now slipping back out of necessity-recruiting someone to help me so I can meet my 50-55 hours-looking for someone that will be able to work independently and maybe eventually be able to take my full time role. I recently started working from home two days a week to reduce commuting time/gain personal time. We put in a pool this summer so I could increase my exercise. WOW -it is breathtaking with the mountain views!

• We were able to cut my husband’s work to 3 or 4 days a week. We are getting used to this adjustment to our income and it has not been bad.

All the above has not been easy and I have made painful choices along the way to make it happen. After the completion of my projects in 2007 I expect to make another adjustment-have not been able to decide what that is-which is making me uneasy I usually can quickly identify next steps.

On the personal front, we have a new subdivision going in less than a mile from us (lots starting at 200k, they keep reserving the local airport for people to fly in on their private planes to consider purchase.) Our community could be in for a big change over the next 5 years as this community launches-when it sells out we may find our financial reward resulting in our next move. Not sure where.

**** Tim’s comments ****

The first step I made yesterday was to increase productivity by purposeful planning and reducing time on email. I scheduled two email reading times - one at 12:00 and the other at 4:00. NO READING EMAIL AT OTHER TIMES. I disabled the feature on my computer that automatically sends email as it comes in and now send/receive mail twice per day and will do this all month. It was a big step for someone who conducts LOTS of business online and MAY be an email addict. I may have to enter a 12-step program to wean myself off checking and responding to emails as they come in. “Hi, my name is Tim….I have a problem”

Tim Richardson is an inspirational speaker who speaks about how giving increases employee morale, lowers employee turnover, increases customer loyalty and creates higher profits for Fortune 500 companies, associations, and national conventions. He is the founder of the The Worlds Biggest Blog Party an event which will connect bloggers from all over the world to raise money for charity. He is also founder and president of the Bill Walter Melanoma Research Fund. For more information on Tim, go to www.TimRichardson.com

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