Transcript
Transcript: Anick's Quick Tips for Executives: Maintaining a Work-Life Balance
[00:00:00 Anick Ouellette appears on screen in a modern Canadian government office.]
Anick Ouellette: Hello. My name is Anick Ouellette and here are some of my tips.
[00:00:06 The title page appears. Soft and inspiring music is playing. Text appears on screen: Quick Tips From Anick: Maintaining a Work-Life Balance.]
[00:00:13 Text appears on screen: Anick Ouellette, Former Assistant Deputy Minister, Corporate Services and Chief Financial Officer, Canada School of Public Service.]
Anick Ouellette: You are an executive and your professional and personal life is very busy. You may be struggling to find balance between the thousand and one responsibilities you have to do.
[00:00:19 Text appears on screen: Anick Ouellette, Faculty Member, Canada School of Public Service.]
Annick Ouellette: I will start by saying that it is easier said than done. It is almost a daily struggle. For my part, every day, I evaluate the day and decide how much time I will devote to work, physical activity, family and friends. It is a bit like dividing a pie into pieces. I like to look at the week as a whole because it enables me to find balance at the end of the week.
To get a good overview, I combine both my professional and personal calendars. I also keep track of how many hours I work each day and add it up at the end of the week. It is the barometer I use to detect whether I'm working too much and to understand why I'm tired sometimes.
Socially, my partner and I usually reserve our Friday nights for just the two of us. It remains very personal, but I recommend you set some time aside for this aspect of your life. Do the same for physical activity and sleep as well.
By establishing these barometers, I manage to remain vigilant and make the necessary adjustments to maintain balance. Moreover, over the years, balance has taken on different forms. In other words, I have adapted and devoted more or less time to different areas of my life. So, we must accept that the pieces of the pie are not necessarily equal at all stages of life. In short, to have a good balance, you must listen to yourself, and to listen to yourself well, you have to understand yourself well and be kind to yourself.
[00:01:53 The closing slide appears. Text appears on screen: Quick Tips From Anick: Maintaining a Work-Life Balance.]
[00:02:00 The Canada School of Public Service logo appears. Text appears on screen: canada.ca/school]
[00:02:07 The Canada wordmark appears.]
