Off Balance

June 20, 2011
Why is work-life balance so difficult to achieve? Because, says Kelly (The Dream Manager), the very concept is fatally flawed. The attempt to "balance" life against work necessarily pits the two against each other; in reality, we do not have two lives, one personal and one professional, but one life that contains both aspects. Better to seek satisfaction rather than balance, and Kelly presents the three philosophies (working to become the best version of yourself, practicing virtue, and self-control) that will help you get there. He urges readers to get in touch with their dissatisfaction, to ask the big questions, and to follow his five-step plan to personal and professional satisfaction: assessment, assigning priorities, developing core habits, and performing both a weekly strategy session and a quarterly review. Though the ideas are solid, they're thin on the groundâreaders looking for a more substantive treatment will be left wanting.