My guest post on Producteev.com.

Maintaining a healthy life balance is not only crucial for happiness and well-being; it can be advantageous to your productivity and success as well. A well-balanced person is better equipped to focus their attention and energy on achieving their goals, accomplishing meaningful actions and moving forward.

Each of us has different life situations, many things pulling us in different directions and a whole host of other factors that we collectively call our lives. Despite these dissimilarities, we all seem to be feeling the same challenge to make it all work somehow.

So, what can you do to regain a positive work-life balance? Or maintain that equilibrium once you find it? How about trying some of these strategies that have worked for others!

• Shut it off – Disconnect on the weekend, at least for one day or a few hours each night. Step away from the computer, turn off the phone and give your brain a rest. Yes, you can do it!
• Health first – It seems like we’re beating a dead horse sometimes, but it really does make a difference in the quality of our lives and our work if we: get enough sleep, drink more water, fit in some activity and eat a bit healthier.
• Cut back – It goes without saying that if your life is too full of the wrong things (sometimes even too much of the right things) you will never be able to pull it all together and find your balance. Ruthlessly trim activities that are not absolutely necessary or do not add value to your life.
• Relationships matter – Make time for your family, spend time with friends and get to know the people around you.
• Say goodbye to “Negative Nancy” – Minimize contact with people that are negative, complainers, whiners or have bad attitudes. You know who I mean…you do not need other people’s junk dragging you down. Surround yourself with positive, supportive, can-do people whenever possible.
• Get quiet – Time alone is probably the hardest thing to do for the typical overworked, overwhelmed, busy individual, but it is crucial for lowering stress, increasing happiness and fostering creativity. Meditate, journal, draw, practice yoga or simply sit quietly for a few minutes each day and do absolutely nothing. I dare you to give it a try!
• Soak up the world - Take a walk and notice what’s going on around you, attend a performance of some kind, play amateur photographer, visit a new town or try being a tourist in your own.
• Expand your mind – Read a book that sparks your interest, listen to uplifting music, take a class, learn to paint, try something new that you’ve always wanted to learn.
• Indulge – Get a massage, a pedicure or a facial. It doesn’t have to be expensive; a glass of wine, a special kind of coffee or tea, a wonderfully scented candle or beautiful flowers.
• Reach out – Join a community organization, volunteer, get involved in the larger world community. It seems counterintuitive to the average person living the typical hectic existence, but doing something to help others most often adds even more to your life.
• Laugh – Have some fun, find your sense of humor, subscribe to a daily joke or get a tear-off calendar. Nothing makes the world feel right again as fast as a good old-fashioned belly laugh.