Our CMO's 8 top tips for work/life balance

As a father of two busy boys, a husband, an ardent cyclist and a dedicated professional – John’s day-to-day life is, like many of yours, jam-packed. But he’s also got his balancing act down to a fine art – these are his top tips for balancing his career, his family life and his health.

Tip #1 - Figure out your priorities

“Ten years ago, I was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer. I had 400 hours of chemotherapy over the course of a year and came out the other side with a pretty strong focus on 1) ensuring I stay alive and 2) making my life count for something. That manifested in being a good father, being a good husband, seeing the world, having great experiences with the people I love most and doing something purposeful from a professional point of view.”

Tip #2 – Work to live, don’t live to work

“Ultimately, I’m a work to live, not live to work person. Having said that, everything I do is full gas. When I'm at work I'm totally focused, totally committed and want to give the best contribution I can to overall performance. What I’ve now become very good at is not taking work home and knowing when to shut off from work and be present and focused at home.”

Tip #3 – Don’t go with the flow, define the flow

“I have quite a structured plan around how I ensure there is appropriate work/life balance. I have the benefit of being a little bit older and wiser and knowing what does and doesn’t work for me. I’m also clear about what my priorities are. I allocate my time accordingly. I consciously manage trade-offs. I’m constantly looking to strike the right balance and I instinctively know when I’m out of balance and need to get the equilibrium back. I prefer to define the flow – rather than go with the flow.

Tip #4 – Take care of your health

“Familiarizing yourself with what’s happening to your body as a result of being healthy is massively important. Health-wise – I'm pretty disciplined around physical exercise and diet. It’s necessary to find time to look after my physical and mental health. I’m dedicated to staying physically fit and feel that a strong, fit body is essential to support a sharp mind and positive outlook. What I need to get better at is building holidays into the year, so I build in appropriate time for rest and recovery.”

Tip #5 – Optimize and support your cells

“The primary reason I take MitoQ is I believe wholeheartedly in its ability to optimize and support the health of my cells. And I think that it’s an important tool for me to feel like I am doing everything I can to stay strong, fit, and alive for as long as possible without anything slowing me down. It gives me peace of mind knowing that I have done something smart and impactful to give my body the best chance of ongoing and enduring good health. I feel my day-to-day energy increase as a result.”

Tip #6 – Stay motivated to exercise by setting goals

“Having real motivation to exercise is important – whatever that might be. It might be that you have an event to train for, or a personal best to beat – whatever it is – it's helpful to have a goal that motivates you. The ability to measure and track progress and be motivated by that is helpful. Building in some structure - I find helpful. The other thing is, there’s no reason you can’t do exercises with your kids! That’s always fun.”

+ Read 20 Fun Workouts to Try with Your Kids

Tip #7 – Get good at your self-talk

“For me, there are times when, particularly if I’m going to exercise after work, I’ll come home from work feeling mentally drained. You’ve got to tell yourself “well, I’m not physically drained, because I’ve been sitting all day”. So, there’s a mind over matter battle, sometimes. You’ve got to have the internal strength to talk yourself into doing exercise rather than out of it.”

Tip #8 – Monitor your work from home hours

“I think working from home becoming normal has some inherent dangers because, if you’re not careful, there’s no symbolic clocking on and clocking off moments. You can find yourself doing the extra bit and suddenly an 8-hour day becomes a 10-hour day, and a 40-hour week becomes a 50- or 60-hour week. When you’re working from home, it can be easy or convenient to do that. I think you have to be mindful of when to clock on and off.”