Work-Life Balance

This word was not really on my mind to write about but someone just used it today and every second day it keeps popping up here and there. According to me, the word is just a myth and a 'feel good' factor and 'sounds good' factor for all who talk about it. In today's tough market, where the mantra is work hard, harder and hardest and where most of the executives toil for more than 50 hrs a week and some for even 80 hrs a week I have no idea how they can talk about work-life balance. Many of the women come home from work only to sign onto a 'second shift' ;most of them still managing household chores like meal preparation, child care, laundry etc.. I definitely don't think that these women think of their routine as work-life balance. Then what is it that drives everyone forward and helps maintaining a balance?
Work doesn't have to be exhausting if one can actively manage their energy levels. Infact the only hope that women have today is to balance their energy flows. If one can priortize their work based on the activities that energize you ,both at home and at work,then fatigue or burnout can be avoided. It can be observed that people who are engaged in activites such that they don't recognize the passage of time are more productive and seem to derive greater satisfaction from their work than those who do not. It energizes them rather than draining them.
So a useful tactic is to identify the conditions and situations that replenish the energies rather than sap them out. Self-awareness is a technique which can allow to deliberately incorporate restorative elements during the course of the day. Space your non productive and energy sapping tasks throughout the day rather than bundling it up together. This is a time management technique given by all management gurus.Definitely helps.
So to come back to my point, people who really talk about work-life are the ones who have actually learnt the art of managing their energies well and deriving the positive energy out of the work that they do. It neccesarily does not have to mean that you get out of work on time just to do what you are happy doing but rather do the work that makes you happy.
That way one does not need to strive for striking a balance. Many things get life when we get a life. So I say, get a life first figure the balancing act later!