Technology and the work/life balance dream

With most of us now averaging a 45 -hour work week with seemingly endless family commitments, it’s no wonder it’s increasingly challenging to find the right balance between work and personal life. The boss of BlackBerry in Australia tells you how technology can help.

The first thing to do is to assess your priorities both work and personal. This will provide you with absolute clarity as to how your time should be spent. Most people will nominate family as their top priority but will appreciate the necessity of work to ‘support’ this. In my case, my family is my highest priority, however my work is also a fundamental part of my existence. This insight empowers me to set my priorities without endless internal debate.

The second thing to do is ensure you have the right tools to help you ‘do it all’. If a busy person was asked to choose between a smartphone with email capability, calendar, diary, MP3 capability, task list, GPS and Wi-Fi capability or a traditional mobile phone with a separate electronic calendar and written diary, separate MP3 player, written to-do list plus the need to race back to the office to check emails as often as possible, what do you think they would choose?

It is pretty clear. The smartphone eliminates the need for a handbag or briefcase full of notebooks, separate diaries and mobile phones. It also saves a huge amount of time as it allows users to respond to emails and have access to key data whilst on the run, preventing them from working overtime or having to rush back to the office after meetings to clear emails.

So, how does a smartphone have a positive impact on a person’s day-to-day life and increase the time they spend with their family? In summary, it allows you to use those spare moments you have throughout the work day productively and efficiently, which then frees up your personal time in the evening and on the weekends.

Let me share how I manage my work and family life using my BlackBerry.
Here is an average day in the life of Adele Beachley:

5:00am Wake up, run along the beach listening to my running playlist on my BlackBerry then have a quick dip to cool off. Exhilarating, and I’m pumped and ready for the day.

5:30am Sit down on the sand and spend 15-to-20 minutes checking emails on my BlackBerry. The nature of my role means my job transcends the traditional 9-to-5 role and crosses different time zones so it’s awesome to be able to make the most of small ‘windows of opportunity’ to check and respond to emails and keep things moving. I usually take three-to-four minutes here to check my FaceBook page also! (Clear 40 emails).

6:30am Family breakfast. As I have already checked in for the day, I can now take some time to have breakfast with my husband and son. This time is very important to me. I am quite relaxed as I know I am already fully up to speed on what is happening for the day.

8:00am Travel to work – I usually travel to work on the jet cat. I now have 45 minutes to review documents, check some more emails, and read any company updates that may have come in overnight on my BlackBerry. I can also check my calendar to review the meetings booked for the day. There are heaps of other people doing the same on their BlackBerry during the journey. (Clear 30 emails).

8:45am By the time I arrive in the office, I am ready to start a day of back-to-back meetings. I have read all the updates from Toronto overnight and am feeling on top of things.

9:00am Meetings – most of the morning! I keep my phone on silent, however I have placed special alerts for certain people (my husband and my boss!) so I am able to respond immediately and prioritise.

11:45am Asia is waking up. Finally get to sit at my desk. However, I don’t have endless emails to attend to as I have been able to squeeze most of it in during the spare moments throughout my morning when I have been waiting on another action to begin. (Clear 30 emails).

12:30am Lunch at new restaurant with old friend at Walsh Bay! Can’t find the address so whip out my BlackBerry, open Google Maps and get directions.

12:45am Arrive to lunch in time! Get the waiter to take a snap of my friend and I using the camera in my BlackBerry smartphone

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