Dear Cassie,
My life seems to revolve entirely around meetings and deadlines. Cassie, I don't seem to have a life anymore! I spend my weekends catching up with paperwork. There is little time to be truly relaxed. Every little breather or time-off seems like indulgence. I am overwhelmed with the tasks that I need to accomplish. But, the irony is that I often find myself wasting chunks of time and being unproductive. My spiritual and family life are suffering as a consequence. I also hesitate to get into a relationship, for fear it would suffer because of my schedule. How can I strike an effective work-life balance? Thinking about it does not help.
Tired, Southeast Asia

Dear Tired,
It sure does sound like you are stressed to your limits and need to de-clutter yourself of this mountain of work, and the only way to accomplish this is to learn how to plan, manage your time more effectively, and prioritize those things you need to accomplish. You can take classes offered at work, at your local community center, adult education program or given by professional organizations (for example, Franklin Covey, the maker of the Franklin Day Planner System).

Or you can start by trying to get organized yourself, which will take a lot of motivation, discipline, and patience, and it will become easier once you have a system down that works for you. Getting things done and staying organized is a developed habit, similar to exercising regularly to keep fit, or dieting to lose and maintain a desired weight. Your feeling of being overwhelmed and perplexed, and tendency to waste chunks of time are caused by not having a clear picture of what you need to do. This in turn will cause you to feel frustrated and helpless, so you need to sit down and sort everything out.

David Allen, dubbed as the "personal productivity guru", suggests the following techniques from his book "Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity".

-- Allen stresses the concept of "mind like water". Once you’ve gotten yourself organized, your mind should be calm like water. Large and small tasks are like stones thrown into the water causing a rippling effect, but once the ripples are gone, the mind should return to a state of calm. If you have a good system down to get organized, then you should be able to better handle all the small and large tasks, and reduce your stress level.

-- Use a calendar to record your appointments for each day, a daily planner system, or the more sophisticated electronic handheld version, also known as a personal digital assistant (PDA). If you like electronic gadgetry and can't get enough button- pushing from your cell phone, computer and video game controller, using a PDA may give you more incentive to get your life in order.

-- Rather than using a To Do List, create a Next Action plan which will help you reach your final goal in a series of small, results-oriented steps that can be accomplished with less effort, rather than taking one giant leap to reach our goal.

-- Reduce the amount of time spent weeding through paperwork and email by avoiding looking at it twice. Ask yourself if it needs immediate attention. If so, and it takes less than two minutes to complete, then do it right away. If it takes more than two minutes, put it on your Next Action plan or delegate it. Or if it is for reference only, then file it. A simple workflow diagram from Allen's book summarizes this process very well.
Click to see David Allen's Workflow Diagram.

-- Allen also suggests a filing system that can help you manage your daily tasks, called the Tickler File. Take 31 file folders labeled with each day of the month, and 12 more labeled with each month of the year. If there is a task that must be completed by a specific date, then place the item in the day for that folder, and it will remind you of those items that need to be completed that day.
Click to see David Allen's Tickler File Diagram.

The main thing is to create a system that works for you, use it regularly, and once you've completed your tasks for the day, you can sit down and relax with a sense of accomplishment and not guilt. You may also want to limit your work tasks to weekdays, and personal affairs to the weekends, allowing you to more effectively balance your personal and professional responsibilities. And don't forget to take vacation - after working hard all year, you need some much needed rest to rejuvenate and recharge yourself.

Quoting Peter Lynch, the wildly successful former Fidelity Magellan mutual fund manager, in his book "Beating the Street": "You remind yourself that nobody on their deathbed ever said: 'I wish I spent more time at the office.'"

Best of luck to you,

Cassie

Disclaimer: This advice column is intended as general discussion and information on the topic covered, and is not to be construed as rendering legal, professional, medical or financial advice. If you need professional advice, you should consult with an appropriate expert.

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