I am mostly home-based so tend to use my lunch break to go to the gym or do yoga. If I was office based I think I would try to do the same and go to a studio if there was one near enough!

Louis Alley - it sounds like you've really got it down! thanks for the ideas!

Keval Desai - such good advice! I can accept it, just hard being "zen" with it!

accept imbalance and be zen with it ...

Dave Ramsey's suggestion for startup planning works for overall life also. Take a few minutes at the beginning of the day to list everything you need to do. Then mark everything with broad categorizations of importance ("A", "B", "C", etc.). Then go to the A's and put them in order ("1", "2", "3", etc.). Start your day with A1, then A2, etc. You probably won't get through all the tasks, but you'll know where your time went and that you've done the best that's possible. There are certain things that I used to skimp on that experience have taught me are non-negotiable in the long run (daily exercise and sleep). So I no longer set an alarm, and I won't go to bed until I have 15000 steps on my fitbit.

Jill Roberts are you going to a yoga studio at lunch or is there someplace at your workplace where you can roll out your mat and watch Grokker yoga videos on your laptop or tablet ot smartphone?

Yoga in my lunch break...

Thanks for starting this dicussion Deborah! So true--work life balance is not a destination! Otherwise if I reached it once, it would last forever! Ha! I am still striving for greater balance but the one thing my husband and I do together that seems to help, is we have a rule of "no discussing work after 10pm." It might sound crazy, but having a clear deadline that we agree to together really helps us set aside our career-selves and take time for other topics while we wind down and get ready for a good night's sleep. Sharing the exciting or frustrating work meeting of the day while we brush our teeth is actually not conducive to relaxation! This is the one thing we actually do consistently. The next thing I want to try is spending 10 minutes on a hobby each day. I'll let you know when I've added that to my "balance practice"!

Ah, the elusive "work life balance"... I often find it difficult to achieve everything I want to do as a professional, a mom, a wife, and an individual. I am learning that work life balance is not an actual destination; it's more about my day to day active prioritization and decision making. How are you making steps toward work life balance? Please share your ideas because it may be that your approach that can inspire others. thanks!