Here's how you can maintain work-life balance in late career.

I've often heard, when this topic comes up, the best advice is to identify the tasks and activities that can only be done by you and delegate or train another to do the rest. I think that is an interesting way of thinking about things. As a leader, I'd think your investment in your team is best expressed in sowing trust by gradually introducing the more challenging work to your team. It definitely frees up your time and builds up your team, all at once! Two birds, one stone, anyone? God forbid your team figures out you have them on the "lesser work"

I like how setting boundaries in the work place is often associated with time, I think it goes beyond that. The energy that you show up in/with at work is definitely not the same energy at home, with friends, or in any other context. Boundaries are a very important tool in managing one's life and life-force, but it goes beyond time, and I would like for us, as professionals, to have more conversations around this and speak more to wholistic livelihood. Yes, we are professionals, and we are also so much more. Let's talk about showing up healthy in every sphere of our lives as well. Money and time are a great measure, but what else is there? And how do we maintain or assist our team to keep good health wholistically?

Flexibility is king! My most favourite saying when asked about negotiating a contract. As one who has been both an employer and employee, I've only seen beautiful things with this policy. I remember the first time I had the opportunity to negotiate my contract, my first and most important point was "Are you paying for VALUE or TIME" I know we might not be excited to come across so "strong" but there is always a time and place...and words to get a point across. If you can produce more value in half the time, what's the need of wasting more resources? We've spoken more about time, but this applies to other things as well. Are you flexible to learn skills and practices that are outside your traditional scope of work? Make further connections.

Planning ahead gives us a head start on the day and season. Remember, your energy is just as finite a resource as time, money and any other resource. The way you show up in every sphere is paramount to 1. your ability to produce good work and 2. your ability to show up 100% in your personal life. So please, do plan ahead and steward well all your resources as much a possible. It's often been said that in order to give all in one area, there surely must be another area that suffers. I'm of the view that you can achieve anything you put your mind to. Suffering is a matter of perspective, sometimes balance looks like spending a littler more in one area, sometimes it's a matter of taking turns in this juggling act we call life.

If you were to think of work-life balance like the Yin-Yang symbol, you would see how these two seemingly unrelated areas of life actually complete each other, balance each other out for sure. A common saying in my circle is work hard, play harder, and I add to that, and have clarity of where and when to do each. You might want to bring work relationships into your personal life, A great idea, I'd advice you be careful here as lines could easily be blurred. This does not stop you from being human at work, basic courtesy and consistency will gain you relationships that last longer than your stay with an office.