DEBJANI’S RULES TO ACHIEVING A WORK- LIFE BALANCE

REDEFINE YOUR IDEA OF BALANCE First question your definition of balance. My idea of balance is not what your’s is. Some people may want to work weekends or late nights, while others may not. There is no right or wrong, it’s completely individual. So be at peace with how many hours you want to split between your home and office.

LET GO OF PERFECTION We grow up with this image of the perfect woman in our heads and want to be her when we grow up. But it’s an unattainable ideal. For instance I can’t cook, but that doesn’t mean I love my family any less. Life is about coming to terms with your own reality, not your mother or mother- in- law’s reality.

RIGHT EXPECTATIONS It’s crucial that you set the right expectations with your partner or husband before you get married. You need to be certain about what is important to you and what is not. I keep telling my employees that THE most important career decision you make is who you marry. Most women marry without having important discussions with their partners on expectations and rules. And that is where most of the pressure and problems begin. Because you get married and it is expected that you will be the primary care giver. It is expected that you will be home every day by 5 pm and cook dinner. And that’s where the guilt trips begin. I would encourage every young woman planning to get married to sit down and have a very frank talk with her partner about what you are capable of doing. You have to know where he stands. That conversation needs to happen and it doesn’t happen often enough.