During the early-to mid- 2000’s, “work-life balance” was a hot topic. Then, when no one was able to come up with a slick, quick fix, it fell out of favor. Personally, I like the term, as an easy way to identify our need to navigate multiple competing roles and interests. And while work is certainly a part of life—it in fact encompasses a very large part of our lives, taking up a significant portion of our time during the workweek, and often beyond—as a major competitor for our time and energy, it needs to be balanced with family, friends and self-care.

Research has shown that stress arising from work-family conflicts is detrimental to both physical and mental health. And research on stress further illustrates how it is related to increased distractibility, difficulty concentrating, decreased productivity and poorer performance.