The Best Work Life Balance Blogs of 2014
The Best of BuyerZone series highlights blogs that help business professionals crush their goals. But with summer already in full-swing and 2014 is past the half-way mark, it's time to reevaluate your personal goals.
- Have you lost 15 pounds?
- Have you mastered a new sport?
- Did you take that trip to Spain like you promised?
Work often gets in the way of accomplishing personal goals – but it doesn't have to. The following ten work-life balance blogs contain plenty of advice to help you take control of your over-stressed life!
BuyerZone's content team has researched, selected, and ranked these blogs based on their content freshness, blog age, social media presence and most importantly – their engagement with readers. The top six were kind enough to offer advice on how to balance work and life.
Congrats to all the blogs selected!
#1
Brian Tracy's Blog
Brian Tracy's blog is our top pick because this blogger lives and breathes his own advice. Recognized as one of the top personal and professional success authorities in the world today, Brian's authored more than 60 books and has produced more than 500 audio and visual learning programs on personal development, sales, management, and business success.
And he still manages to contribute to his blog on a regular basis.
Readers will find his blog both informative and inspirational. Each blog post breaks down life and career challenges, while concluding with actual solutions to overcoming the challenges. Brian strives to help readers achieve their goals fast and with ease.
What's your best advice for professionals trying to juggle work and life?
In order to achieve a great work-life balance, you must ensure that you are setting goals to cover the three most important areas of your life. They must be in harmony with each other, not contradictory:
#2
Gapingvoid
The phrase, "A picture is worth a thousand words" holds true when it comes to Hugh MacLeod's blog, Gapingvoid. Hugh MacLeod, a cartoonist and an author, uses art as a way to encourage healthier company culture in an array of industries, including tech, healthcare and higher education. Readers will find that each post focuses on a business theme, accompanied by a cartoon that seamlessly depicts the message.
"For the last decade, that's what I've been trying to do: create a new language for business, via cartoons," Hugh explains. "Both art and business are trying to answer the same questions: What matters? What is possible? Now that we're here, what should we do? It's this sweet spot that both art and business share, that Gapingvoid tries to nail. Business is not about making money, business is about the human condition, and the meaning we get (and give) from being alive."
What's your best advice for professionals trying to juggle work and life?
Work-life balance is dead. Work-life integration is what we live now. The more excited you are to get to your work – your real work – every day, the better you'll feel. There's no longer a reason to wait to create. You can begin today.
#3
Tiny Buddha
One of the most important things employees should know is that that the difficulties they have balancing their work and outside life are very common. Since 2009, Lori Deschene's blog has been an online community where guest bloggers share what they've been through and what they've learned, to help both themselves and others.
"I started the site after struggling for over a decade with depression, bulimia, and debilitating shame, to help people feel less alone with their challenges and more empowered to overcome them," explains Lori Deschene, founder of Tiny Buddha.
Each post aims to uplift and educate readers, whether it's via an inspirational quote, artwork or video.
What's your best advice for professionals trying to juggle work and life?
One thing that's helped me tremendously is getting clear on my top values and priorities. In knowing what's most important to me, I'm better able to set goals that I know will lead to personal and professional fulfillment; to assess which opportunities to accept and which to decline; and to ask for help when I need it so I can maintain the balance that feels right to me.
Of course, it can take a while to create a life that aligns with our unique values, and there may be times when we feel overwhelmed by our responsibilities. But really, it all comes down to choices. This is where our power lies: getting clear on what we're willing and able to do, and why; and identifying what steps we need to take to create and maintain the balance that feels right for us.
#4
Breathing Space Blog
For people who struggle with time management, a 20 minute break to really soak in a long blog post is hard to find. That's where "The Work-Life Balance Expert", Jeff Davidson can help. Jeff contributes short, motivational posts on a daily basis, giving readers the boost they need to get into work mode.
"The Breathing Space Blog can help readers gain perspectives as well as practical tips on experiencing work-life balance," explains Jeff. "As I define it, work-life balance is the ability to experience a sense of control and to stay productive and competitive at work while maintaining a happy, healthy home-life with sufficient leisure."
What's your best advice for professionals trying to juggle work and life?
Work-life balance entails having breathing space for yourself each day; feeling a sense of accomplishment, while not being consumed by work; and having an enjoyable domestic life without short-changing career obligations. And it's rooted in whatever fulfillment means to you within 24-hour days, seven-day weeks, and however many years you have left.
Several disciplines support work-life balance, though individually, none are synonymous with work-life balance. These disciplines include: Self Management, Time Management, Stress Management, Change Management, Technology Management, and Leisure Management.
#5
Officevibe Blog
Officevibe makes it their mission to help businesses create a fun company culture by focusing on each employee as an individual. Their services provide the how while their blog addresses the why, touching upon important topics such as the importance of core values, why multitasking is bad, and why employee recognition is crucial.
"We started this blog last August [2013] with the goal of informing people about great HR practices that will allow employees to feel more motivated and productive," explains Jeffrey Fermin, Cofounder of Officevibe. "We genuinely want offices to be stress-free and fun environments."
What's your best advice for professionals trying to juggle work and life?
It might sound simple, but the best thing to do to have more work-life balance is to write down everything that you want to accomplish – from both a personal standpoint and business standpoint – then prioritize them and figure out what to get started on and work on them little by little. If you want to be a more productive employee, while losing weight, and having time for a personal life, start rearranging your schedule so you can make all three happen. Not having work-life balance is bad from a mental health standpoint and it'll affect your work.
More on Mental Health:
This infographic was crafted with love by Officevibe, the
employee engagement platform that helps managers see the ROI of company culture while making employees happier.
#6
Work+Life Fit Blog
Like the other bloggers on this list, Cali Yost, CEO and founder of the Flex+Strategy Group/Work+Life Fit Inc, offers advice on common work-life challenges. What makes her blog different is that she responds to recent issues in particular.
For instance, as you scroll through her blog you'll find loads of posts covering recent events and newly-published studies. Posts also come in a variety of forms, ranging from infographics, to videos to interviews to ensure engaging material. Called "one of the smartest, sophisticated thinkers" by the New York Times, Cali and her blog tries to cover every angle to the challenge of balancing work and life.
What's your best advice for professionals trying to juggle work and life?
There is no work-life balance. All you can achieve is your unique, ever-changing "work+life fit." Your employer can't put the boundaries around work and the other parts of your life for you. You need to learn how to manage your "work+life fit" day-to-day and at major life transitions, so what matters to you on and off the job happens in a way that meets your needs and the needs of your job.
#7 Laurie Ruettimann's Blog
Laurie Ruettimann was a Human Resources leader, and is now a speaker, social media strategist, and writer. Laurie's blog is an absolute force of personality; full of sarcasm and wit, peppered with pictures of cats and – on occasion – some salty language.
Ironically enough, Laurie's blog may be the only work-life balance blog that has posts about both work and life. Laurie writes about movies and books as well as other subjects such as conferences, personal branding strategies, and HR dilemmas. She's not only a critical thinker but also an excellent observer of people's emotions and motivations, which makes her the perfect window into the world of HR practices and corporate life.
Sample post: Laissez-faire Feminism and HR Conferences
#8 WorkAwesome
While some of the work-life balance bloggers on this list would encourage planning for the future, WorkAwesome encourages its readers to focus on what they are actually doing. This blog is full of key information for someone who wants to improve their own work, beyond the obvious advice of getting off Facebook and pouring yourself that fifth cup of coffee before 10 AM.
Writers at WorkAwesome tend to write posts in a fun and simple list style format. Articles such as "5 Ways to Make Office Life Easier for Introverts" or "5 Secrets to Dealing with Anger at Work" are funny, smart, and informative. However, the best posts are the ones that seek to help us understand how we can help ourselves on an emotional and psychological level to work better and live better.
#9 Careertopia
Careertopia delivers a different tone from the other work-life balance blogs on this list. The blog's main theme is taking control of your life and finding the right path to career success and personal fulfillment; however, the writers are gutsy and confident in their opinions and observations.
Knowing how to write a resume and conduct an interview are two keys for finding a job, but what happens when someone has spent ten years in the same place and is still not fulfilled professionally? Careertopia bills itself as a solution to this potentially soul-crushing problem. The blog does an excellent job of dousing this distressing variety of professional angst with equal parts wit and reassurance. Behind the emotional support is an even stronger support system of facts, resources, and advice for those seeking the right career.
Sample post: The Key to Success: Not What You Think
#10 Employers for Work Life Balance – HR News
The three HR warriors that manage this blog have one thing in common: they have all been coldly deemed “redundant” by past employers. Since then, these three professionals have joined together with the mission of proving to corporations that it is within companies' best interest to invest in employees beyond a weekly paycheck.
With multiple blog posts in a variety of categories – from accidents at work to recruitment — bloggers Jane Robinson, Tracey Beckenham, and Dave Simpson do an excellent job at reminding workers of their rights within the workplace while also keeping them informed of their responsibilities. Many of the blog posts contain real-world experience, and the advice for both employers and employees alike is extensive and articulate.
Sample post: 2014 Employment Law Changes which May Affect You
There you have it! The best work-life balance blogs of 2014! You may have no problem taking control in the conference room but it's time to take control outside the office building. Big congratulations to the bloggers selected, and don't forget to collect your Best Work Life Balance Blogs badge!