Nigel Marsh, author of Fat, Forty, and Fired gave a TED talk on achieving work-life balance (which you can watch above, followed by the world's longest Rolex commercial). In it he argues that making grand, sweeping changes to achieve balance will ultimately end in failure—much like a crash diet. Instead, Marsh believes that strategic little changes make the biggest difference.
Perhaps the best quote from the talk: "Most people work long, hard hours at jobs they hate that enable them to buy things they don't need to impress people they don't like." I think that rings true, on some level, for most people. But how do stop that cycle? If situations are so dire that you hate the place you work to the point where it's made your life miserable, it may be time to quit and do something you love. Marsh points out, however, that even the good corporations can make you unhappily overworked simply because they're designed to get the most work out of you that they can. If you loved your job at one point and are now finding it miserable, it may not be the job so much as a lack of balance.
While the talk is inspiring, Marsh doesn't offer up much that's specifically actionable so I'm going to make a suggestion. Make a list of the little things that matter to you and pick five on any given day. Give yourself 15-30 minutes to do each of the five things spread throughout your day. If you decide to do this for a little while, come back here and post a comment to let everyone know how it worked out.
