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6 Tips for CEOs to Master Work-Life Balance

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For many CEOs, workdays mostly consist of managing an almost endless stream of emergencies. It can be difficult for them to find time for strategizing, generating ideas, and developing long-term goals because they’re constantly putting out fires. These dueling responsibilities can easily lead to burnout and sacrifices in the executive’s personal life to make more time for work.

Companies entrust CEOs with a wide range of responsibilities. Because of this, top execs typically carry an extremely heavy workload and often don’t get a chance to rest and recharge.

If you’re a busy CEO of a company of any size, use these six tips to stop sleeping in your office and find a healthy work-life balance:

1. Recharge Whenever Possible

You might not have the luxury of a whole day or weekend off—few CEOs do. But that doesn’t mean that you should give up on recharging altogether. Find small opportunities to reset whenever you can. Spend an evening with your family or take a long lunch to give yourself a chance to rest and reflect.

It’s also a good idea to take more time to recharge when the workload slows down. There will naturally be slower and busier weeks, and as the CEO you need to ride that wave and recharge whenever there’s a lull. Look for those opportunities and seize them—it’s all too easy to fill valuable time with busy work.

2. Delegate

As a CEO, you have many responsibilities, but how many of those do you actually need to be taking on yourself? After all, you’re not an expert in every aspect of day-to-day company operations. That’s just impossible. Give some of those responsibilities to employees who are more qualified to perform those tasks. 

CEOs can create more value for their companies by focusing on what they do best and delegating the rest. Putting your energy toward mission, values, strategy, vision, and growth will not only help the company succeed, but will also create more time for a healthy work-life balance.

3. Acknowledge Your Personal Needs

CEOs are people too, and even those who run huge companies understand the importance of balance and personal time. Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer’s tip is to “find your rhythm,” which is different for everyone. For some people, being home in the evenings is important. For others, it’s finding time to exercise or get enough sleep. 

What’s important is to acknowledge your own personal need to help avoid burnout. If you start feeling resentful, you won’t improve your work-life balance and you’ll probably start to encounter trouble at work. Figuring out your rhythm and personal priorities is key.

4. Prioritize Your Downtime

As a CEO, your to-do list is never-ending. You’ll never get to the end of it, so you need to schedule downtime into your schedule knowing that you’ll never be truly finished. You may choose to take the weekends off, the evenings, or a completely different schedule depending on the needs of the business, but regardless of when you make time for downtime, it’s important to be present during your time off. Use your downtime purposefully, whether you choose to use it to build connections with friends and loved ones, care for yourself, relax, or just go for a walk. It’s your time to recharge your batteries and it’s important to prioritize those needs.

5. Establish Boundaries

Work will fill the time it’s given, so if you don’t create clear boundaries, it’s easy to let your life become your work. One way to establish boundaries is to put a natural limit on certain activities. GM CEO Mary Barra uses this tactic by scheduling meetings near the end of the workday. The meeting has to stop at a specific time because she has to leave for her child’s sporting event. These clear boundaries can prevent work from creeping into your personal life and force you to take time for yourself. It also sends a strong and important message to your team: it’s okay to have a life.

6. Take Technology Breaks

When you take your downtime, really take it. No answering emails or taking calls when you’re off the clock. One of the best ways to really recharge is to take breaks from technology. Leaving your phone and laptop behind while you walk your dog, play with your kids, read a book, or hit the gym is a great way to really be present or reflect and de-stress. Take breaks from the screen as often as you can!

Don’t Let Life Pass You By

It’s so important to live your life, even when it feels like you can’t take any time away from the office. Studies show that 51% of professionals miss important family events because of work-life imbalance. You don’t want to look back on your life someday and feel regret. Take a day off from time to time. The company will survive and may even be better off because you’ll be rested and ready for anything.

Ryan Ayers has consulted a number of Fortune 500 companies within multiple industries including information technology and big data. After earning his MBA in 2010, Ayers also began working with start-up companies and aspiring entrepreneurs, with a keen focus on data collection and analysis.

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Success Advice

Mastering Self-Management for Success: Lessons From Peter F. Drucker

With careers no longer following a straight, predictable path, self-awareness and adaptability are essential for success.

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In today’s dynamic professional world, self-management has become increasingly important. With careers no longer following a straight, predictable path, self-awareness and adaptability are essential for success. (more…)

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How to Ignite the Spark Within for Future Success

All of us come to this world with our own reserve of magic unfortunately, not everyone can unleash it

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What is it that makes some people great leaders while others remain followers? What magic do they have that others don’t? What special blessing gives them the power to bring significant change?  (more…)

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How Your Beliefs Can Supercharge or Sabotage Your Success

Your life is dictated by beliefs and biases that drive your thinking, behaviors, and decisions

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Your Beliefs Can Supercharge or Sabotage Your Success (1)
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Pause for a moment and ponder two pandemic-era beliefs: First, closing schools will control the spread of a serious virus. Second, the consequences of such school closures—particularly social interruption and the prevention of immunity—are worse than becoming sick with the virus. (more…)

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How to Break the Cycles of Mediocrity and Manifest Your Greatness

There is no greatness without becoming and there is no becoming with authenticity

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In just a few weeks, we will be wrapping up 2023. Can you believe it? This year has been absolutely incredible for me.

I have seen amazing doors opened, new relationships formed and I am seeing dreams realized in my life. While this seems like the hallmarks of a great year, this has also been the most challenging year of my life. With all of the change happening in my life, I have been forced out of my comfort zone and challenged to grow in every area of my life.

I can truly say that I have made the most of my moments this year and I have used everything as a catalyst for maximizing my greatest potential.

As a revolutionary leader, I have the pleasure of consulting and advising leaders around the world to fulfill purpose, realize their greatest potential and make an impact.

I want to share some insights with you that will help you to break cycles of mediocrity and manifest your greatness

Everything legal must come through the matrix

I am sure that some of you are wondering why I am using the term matrix. However, what you have to understand is that I am trying to make a highly complex spiritual principle practical to understand.

Regardless of your spiritual beliefs, every life has an origin and I believe that origin is divine and begins with eternity. You are birthed from eternity and into time to fulfill a unique purpose and assignment in your lifetime and generation.

The matrix is simply the portal or vehicle that brings something out of the invisible realm and into tangible form. The problem with much of the teaching today is that it excludes the matrix. We are told to believe that success is instantaneous and overnight.

Nobody talks about how a dream progresses through stages beginning with visualization and ultimately culminating in manifestation. Without a matrix or portal then everything that you attempt to birth and build will be illegal.

The matrix not only makes you legal but it gives you the authority and power to function as the greatest expression of who you were created to be. 

Every matrix has an incubation process

While many people admire and respect me today, I remember a time when nobody knew who I was or the significance of my message. How did I get to where I am today? I got here through an incubation process.

In other words, everything that has been destined for your life is incubating and awaiting a set time of manifestation. The problem is that most people live their entire lives idle and never initiate the incubation process.

What do I meany by that? Most people are living reckless and very few people are living intentionally. I am amazed at the number of people I have conversations with that have no vision, goals or strategies for their lives. They show great promise and they have undeniable potential.

However, without development they will die with their dreams still in them.

Everything that has been destined for your life must be incubated and converted to become realities born to time. 

“Visualize this thing that you want, see it, feel it, believe in it. Make your mental blueprint and begin to build.” – Robert Collier

You must give expression to that which is not yet born to time

When you think about a matrix or a prophetic incubation process, you have to understand that potential is often unrealized and untapped. In other words, your potential is in raw form and your potential cannot serve you as long as it is untapped.

The thing that makes me valuable is that I have the ability to convert potential into power. I have done it in my own life and I have empowered leaders around the world to do the same. How do you convert potential into power?

First, it is important to note that you have to perceive potential. If you cannot perceive your potential then you can never cultivate your potential. In addition, you must take the time to cultivate your potential. We often get excited about our capabilities; however, we never expand our capacity in order to realize our greatest potential.

In other words, the strength of your potential is only discovered through your willingness to stretch. The more we are challenged the more we are empowered to expand our capacity for greatness. Most of all, you must begin to express your potential. The expression of potential is different for every person.

For example, the expression of my potential is best demonstrated through the thoughts, ideas, products, services, books, etc.

For another person the expression of potential may look like a screenplay, artwork, sports, scientific discoveries, medical breakthroughs, etc.

Regardless of the form of expression, I know that you will live empty and unfulfilled until you make the decision to express your potential. The expression of your potential gives voice to your dreams, life to your vision, significance to your moments and activates your true power.

You must manifest your greatness

As a revolutionary thinker and leader, my work has impacted people around the world. I am grateful that my life is a source of empowerment to so many people. However, before anyone could ever benefit from my life, I had to make a non-negotiable decision to become who I was born to be.

I wish I could tell you that this journey is easy and that you will get there overnight. However, in a world that celebrates us for doing we are often criticized for being. As a result, I wasted a lot of time trying to be who other people wanted me to be instead of being who I was born to be.

There is no greatness without becoming and there is no becoming with authenticity. It is through our bravery to be vulnerable that we ultimately manifest our greatness. We do not bless the world by being a duplicate. We bless the world when we honor our difference. When you honor your difference you honor your potential.

Ultimately, your difference is how you manifest your greatness.

When you present anything but your authentic self to the world, you are playing small and you are robbing the world of your significance. Manifesting your greatness requires you to master your gifts.

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