The Work-Life Balance Myth: Rethinking Your Optimal Balance for Success

by David J. McNeff

An empowering guide that will show you how to shed the myth of the “work-life balance” by merging the seven key components that make up your life to attain harmony and whole-life success “All of us have Seven Slices in our our Family Slice, our Professional Slice, our Personal Slice, our Physical Slice, our Intellectual Slice, our Emotional Slice, and our Spiritual Slice. These all need to be served in some fashion―and in serving them, they, in turn, serve us.” This relatively simple but profoundly critical concept is at the heart of the method executive coach David McNeff has used to transform the lives and careers of his clients. It begins with two important 1) stress happens―you can’t avoid it; and 2) your existence is composed of far more than “work” and “life.” Too often, we divide our lives into those two general categories, but we’re all a lot more complex and our lives are richer than that. By being clear and mindful of all aspects of your life―the Seven Slices―you’ll be more likely to find inner harmony when stress impacts one of them. In The Work-Life Balance Myth, McNeff takes you on a deep dive into each of the Seven Slices, explaining the components of each Slice, signs that you may not be attending to each Slice in a healthy way, and hands-on methods for accessing an underserved Slice. The Work-Life Balance Myth won’t make your life perfect―no one can do that, and you shouldn’t trust anyone who makes that promise. What this book will do is provide you with proven new ways of framing your life, seeing stress for what it is, and vastly improving your ability to navigate the emotional challenges that will inevitably arise in a way that serves your Seven Slices.

Genres: Nonfiction, Self Help, Business

224 pages, Hardcover

Published February 3, 2021

Reviews

[Vanessa Princessa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maybe the method described in the book just isn’t my thing. Here is my review:

The key message in these blinks:

Instead of aspiring to the impossible goal of a work-life balance, the Seven-Slice Method demonstrates how you can achieve harmony in your life by paying attention to each of its key seven areas, or slices, each day. Once you grasp how your life is divided in the context of Family, Professional, Personal, Physical, Intellectual, Emotional, and Spiritual Slices, you can begin to make a plan to reintegrate each area of your life that you’ve been neglecting. No matter how busy or stressed you are, the Seven-Slice Method can help to introduce harmony to you and those around you.

Actionable advice:

Determine what’s distracting you.

If you want to determine whether an activity is contributing to harmony in your life or is just a distraction, check in with yourself. After bingeing your favorite TV shows for a few hours, ask yourself if you feel refreshed. If yes, then this activity is serving your Personal Slice. But if you feel the same or even more drained once you turn off the TV, then maybe it’s time to rethink how much time you spend watching it.

[Chintushig Tumenbayar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ажил амьдралын тэнцвэр гэж бид их ярих дуртай ч энэ дотроо хэдэн хэсгээс бүрдэх түүнийхээ тэнцвэрийг хангах талаар мэдлэг дутуу байдаг шүү дээ. Зохиолчийн санал болгож байгаагаар ажил гэр бүлээс гадна та бидэнд сэтгэл хангалуун амьдрахад нэмж 5 хэсэгт өөрийхөө анхаарлыг бага ч гэсэн анхаарах шаардлагатай байгааг зөвлөжээ. Дурдвал хувийн, биеийн, сэтгэл зүйн, оюун санааны тэгээд сүүлд нь сүсэг бишрэлийн. Нарийн тайлбартай нь уншаад танилцаарай. Надад бол аюурведагийн үдсэн 3 аас салбарлаж болохоор санагдав.

[Chayong · Rating 3 out of 5]

Blink

For one, the Personal Slice involves your hobbies and personal pursuits that are unique to you, as well as the time you spend alone. Meanwhile, the Physical Slice refers to the time you spend taking care of your body, whether through fitness or nourishment. The Intellectual Slice sees your curiosity manifest itself, as, for example, when you read for pleasure, while the Emotional Slice of your life involves how you think and feel about yourself and your circumstances. Finally, the Spiritual Slice involves how your faith, values, and beliefs are nurtured.

Start a spreadsheet and, in the first column, label each row with a Slice: Family, Professional, Physical, Personal, Intellectual, Emotional, and Spiritual. If you’re a more visual thinker, you can draw a pie chart instead and fill in the labels.

Next, ask yourself what percentage of your time each week you spend in each slice of your life.

Understanding why some slices dominate your life and others don’t is what can provide the stimulus needed for change. Indeed, most of the author’s coaching clients discovered they weren’t engaging with at least 30 percent of their total lives. For many, this exercise is the pivotal point at which the need for a dramatic reset becomes clear.

Consider your personal motivation style when determining your plan of action.

Final summary

The key message in these blinks:

Instead of aspiring to the impossible goal of a work-life balance, the Seven-Slice Method demonstrates how you can achieve harmony in your life by paying attention to each of its key seven areas, or slices, each day. Once you grasp how your life is divided in the context of Family, Professional, Personal, Physical, Intellectual, Emotional, and Spiritual Slices, you can begin to make a plan to reintegrate each area of your life that you’ve been neglecting. No matter how busy or stressed you are, the Seven-Slice Method can help to introduce harmony to you and those around you.

Actionable advice:

Determine what’s distracting you.

If you want to determine whether an activity is contributing to harmony in your life or is just a distraction, check in with yourself. After bingeing your favorite TV shows for a few hours, ask yourself if you feel refreshed. If yes, then this activity is serving your Personal Slice. But if you feel the same or even more drained once you turn off the TV, then maybe it’s time to rethink how much time you spend watching it.

[Karen JEC · Rating 4 out of 5]

Listened to the audiobook, which is read by an excited male American-accented narrator and suitable for x1.75 speed. Some great advice is given throughout this book and you'll have plenty to ponder. Would recommend.


Favourite Quotes:

The Seven Slices:
1 Family
2 Professional
3 Personal
4 Physical
5 Intellectual
6 Emotional
7 Spiritual

"If work-life balance is a myth, then what can we do? I argue that, while we'll never be mathematically balanced in all the areas of our lives that we care about, we can better manage our stress and reach a place of harmony by recognizing and consciously living in all of our slices."

"He who lives in harmony with himself, lives in harmony with the universe." ~ Marcus Aurelius

"Once you understand and appreciate all your seven slices, you stop seeing life as fair or unfair. Life becomes something you manage and work, rather than something where you feel victimized or overwhelmed."

"Be consistent and intentional in your practice."

"The basis for how we manage transitions, or the passage from one state, stage, subject, or place to another, begins with our experience with transitioning within our own families."

"In the first fifteen or sixteen years of your life, you adopted habits and behaviours that played a major role in how you navigated adulthood, including how you handled stress. In the Family Slice, you unknowingly, and sometimes unwillingly, learned countless skills that you needed later in life to function at your best level."

"If you've ever wondered why you handle pressure and stress the way you do, the answer is likely found in the environment you grew up in."

"Learning how to get things done with the amount of time you have is the heartbeat of time management."

"It has been my experience that when we decide to deflect or deny the reality that others point out to us, it never ends particularly well."

"It's not stress that kills us, it's our reaction to it."

"Be a learn-it-all, not a know-it-all."

"That's a problem in a leadership role: you need to know when people are with you and when they become disengaged."

"When your curiosity increases, your attitude is likely to improve as well. With an engaged mind and positive attitude, it's easier to find motivation to make positive changes in your life."

"Decide when to begin to begin."

[Sorrowka · Rating 4 out of 5]

it can be hard to fully satisfied every area of your life all the time
Balance is not about '50:50'. or that's what complained by my mother for having literally full day working ( 9am to 10 pm ) during the first wave outbreak .
but doesn't mean it's impossible. Just like orchestra that guides each instruments one to another, played with different instruments in each chorus while maintaining the harmony.

It's giving a fresh reminder about 7 'slice of life': family, professional. physical, personal, intellectual, emotional, spiritual.

you may have a busy life, at which you start to abandon things you're engaged personally. but when you get in soon, you feel "sadly I may have no time for this". That's the feeling of how overwhelmed you are.

there is always time for you to start things. even if you try to calculate how much you do the guilty pleasures, i.e binge watching or scrolling. that just give temporary pleasures, and that's normal. our body reacts to easily pleasure-seeking, reducing our stress. But doing something that brings a meaning, will give more benefit in long term too.

Thanks to this book, i start to get back to painting after being hiatus for 2 months or more, with cramped schedules.
Basically fulfil your day by assessing yourself, "What am i getting out of this?".
and identiyfy your motivation. I love that the book address "do you tend to start off strong when beginning something, only to lose interest quickly?".
when you find your customize harmony, the more you will likely to stick with it.

[Todd · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nifty little framework for thinking about the areas of life. Suggests approaching life as made up of seven areas or slices: work, family, personal, physical, spiritual, emotional, and intellectual. The book is a bit bloated though and could have been presented in about half or a third of the amount of space.

[Brian Nelson-Palmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Provides an actual approach to try to find balance. I found the approach a little too complex to work regularly week in and week out, but I really like the fact that the author brings forward a solution, a “here do this” instead of just writing about the problem.

[Van-Anh Nguyen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I quite like the "Seven-Slice Method" introduced in this book.

[Dimitri · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book puts aside the myth of balance and brings in the concept of harmony. Where you bring harmony in different slices of what life is.

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Considering this book for our workplace virtual book club.

[Mohammad Baqir · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interested to read the book but you don't have time? Watch the video summary of the book here: https://youtu.be/op4e8pUoRSA

[Bahaà Addin Balashoni · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s not about the amount of time you spend in each area of your life each day, but the quality of it.

Remember that it isn't necessarily how long you spend on each slice that matters, but the quality of that time, and the strength of your commitment. Many people who embrace the Seven-Slice Method over the long term report that “life feels more like a journey,” whereas before it felt more like a chore.

Determine what’s distracting you.


If you want to determine whether an activity is contributing to harmony in your life or is just a distraction, check in with yourself. After bingeing your favorite TV shows for a few hours, ask yourself if you feel refreshed. If yes, then this activity is serving your Personal Slice. But if you feel the same or even more drained once you turn off the TV, then maybe it’s time to rethink how much time you spend watching it.

[Michael Levitt · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book belongs on everyone's bookshelf. The lessons that David shares with the Seven Slices provide the best framework for harmonizing one's life.