TL;DR 10. How to Achieve Work-Life Balance (113 words)

Balance does not mean an equal split. Some weeks work will rightly take more: a launch or a deadline. The danger comes when the ‘crazy busy week’ becomes the norm.

Put the things that matter in the diary first, before work gets a look-in: the family supper, the Saturday walk. I do this a month in advance; work will take every hour you leave unguarded; it will take your soul!

End the working day deliberately. Close the laptop, put it out of sight, and don’t open it again until morning.

Take all your holiday, and take it properly, with email switched off.

Watch for the warning signs: snapping at the people you love or spending weekends recovering rather than living.

First action: Put one family or personal commitment in next week’s diary before you add any work appointment.