That is today's question. How do you achieve balance between work and life? For some, work is from 8-5 or 6 and personal time is after that.  Choosing to keep the two things in separate compartments allows them to focus wholly on what is before them. My mentor, Rhonda Shasteen, shared with me in one of our mentoring sessions that it worked best for her lifestyle when she kept work at work and home at home. She never brought work home with her so she could focus on her family. 

For others work and personal lives ebb and flow together in a seamless stream. Keith Ferazzi, the networking guru and author, is a master at blending work and life, and he describes his lifestyle very well in his book, never eat alone. For Keith, making personal calls in the cab on the way to the airport is normal, and having regular dinner parties with business associates is of the norm and part of the key to his success. His Rolodex is likely his most valuable asset, and his chosen work life blend works best for him. 

I figure the priorities in your life determine how you balance best. If you're single with no children, work and social life can be higher priorities. Most folks with families try to make their families a top priority, as they should. When a person's time is dedicated to family, the balance of time allocation shifts from single to family activities. 

Both scenarios have their purpose and their share of blessings. The question is does compartmentalizing or not compartmentalizing work best for you? It takes a bit of reflection and self-awareness to figure out what fits best to your lifestyle. Having Rhonda as a sounding board to talk things over with from time to time has helped me figure out what works well for me. Also, being in situations that didn't allow me to have balance because too much attention had to be paid to either work or personal things helped me set the boundaries of what worked for me. It takes a little desire to look inwardly and self-improve to a certain degree in order to adjust your lifestyle as needed to accommodate the priorities in your life. 

So do you choose to compartmentalize or not?  Please share what works for you.