If your workload seems to leave you with no time for fun and leisure, you may need better strategies for balancing work and life. Some pros recommend planning your fun first and obligating yourself to the leisure and recreational pursuits you enjoy, and then scheduling your workload. Practicing this strategy toward work-life balance will cause you to work more effectively, help you resist distractions that interfere with timely completion of work, and focus your attention like a laser on that…

Summer means new opportunities, places to go, fun events, and, unfortunately, increased risks for teens, who researchers say are more likely to take chances for sheer kicks. Why teenagers participate in more risky behaviors than adults isn't fully understood, but a phenomenon called the "health paradox" defines the problem: It's a period of greatest health, but it corresponds with a statistical peak of mortality. Risk taking, such as drug use, high-risk stunts, unprotected sex, fast driving,…

If you struggle to find balance between work and family, try "shared activity" as a strategy to help you feel less guilty and score some wins. While working in your office at home or doing chores (with the few precious hours you possess on the weekend), consider engaging your child in a way that combines the activity with one he or she can also do that allow them to be present with you. It's a myth that your child watching you work is a "negative" or that "finding balance" means it must always…

Thanks to research, the practice of having an attitude of gratitude is beginning to take its place alongside meditation, yoga, and mindfulness as a health practice with demonstrated value. Magazine articles, books, web sites, diaries, greeting cards, and calendars all promote the attitude of gratitude. More than 20 gratitude-focused research studies have cataloged the health benefits of gratitude, including improved life satisfaction, vitality, hope, optimism, and reduced levels of depression…

Communication problems are still the most commonly cited reason for separation and divorce, so don't let the frustration of communication problems linger too long in your relationship before taking steps to intervene. You can start by applying tried-and-true principles of effective communication. Although many communication strategies for reducing conflict and healing relationships exist, the following three are foundational and can help you experience almost immediate results: 1) Use "I"…

Do you fear retirement? Many people secretly do. They worry about being bored, losing meaning in life that their job provides, having fewer friends, or dying sooner. Good news. Research does not support these fears. On the contrary, retirement usually boosts positive lifestyle changes. You are likely to be more active, sleep better, and reduce your sitting time when you retire. Data revealed that retirees increased their physical activity by 93 minutes a week, decreased sedentary time by 67…

Intrinsic motivation is inner drive. It is your ability to do something without being prompted by an external or outside stimulus. It is also the ability to act according to the way you think instead succumbing to how you feel at the moment. Thinking you should exercise, for example, and summoning intrinsic motivation to do it instead of slouching on the couch is intrinsic motivation in action. To acquire more of this life-changing behavioral trait, follow these steps: When deciding on a goal,…

Long delays in your decision to seek couples counseling can make counseling less likely to be effective. The reason is simple: As time passes you adapt to and cope with unhealthy relationship patterns. Eventually, your reflexes will go on autopilot. You can change reflexes, and the methods for doing so are time-tested, but delay will require more effort, time, and cost. To make needed changes, you will experience more setbacks. This frustration means more thoughts about giving up, increasing…

"It's important to see the big picture!" This common saying applies to understanding many types of problems, but not necessarily to coping with change. When you are suddenly faced with stressful change, focusing on the "big picture" can feed your anxiety and fear. To cope better, whether with workplace or personal change, break change into realistic action steps, and possible decisions and potential solutions to specific difficulties you imagine will arise. Committing these things to paper…