Beyond Juggling: Rebalancing Your Busy Life. (Book Reviews).

By Kurt Sandholtz, Brooklyn Derr, Kathy Buckner, Dawn S. Carlson

Publisher: Berrett-Koehler, San Francisco (2002). ISBN: 1576751309.

Beyond Juggling comes at a most appropriate time indeed. The elusive search for work-life balance is high on the agenda of individuals, academic researchers, and HR professionals charged with helping their organizations attract and keep top talent. At the heart of Beyond Juggling is the assertion that balance is not an impossible dream (or the Holy Grail, as the authors call it), but rather a possible state that requires thinking and evaluating one's life, setting goals, and accepting necessary tradeoffs. The primary goal of the book is to provide individuals strategies for achieving work-life balance, and to guide individuals in assessing the specific strategies most likely to be effective given their goals and unique circumstances. A secondary purpose of the book is to suggest actions that organizations can take to assist their employees as they struggle to maintain a desired work-life balance.

Contents and Themes

The book is divided into three parts. Part One includes two chapters discussing how we have become a "nation of jugglers." The authors depict the economic and demographic transformations that underlie the current work-life problem and describe the most common "strategies" individuals tend to use in an attempt to "have it all" (juggling, downshifting, and workaholism). While these may work for some, for the most of us they are neither sustainable nor desirable.

Basing their findings on extensive case studies and interviews, the authors identify five alternatives to juggling: alternating, outsourcing, bundling, techflexing, and simplifying. These are respectively discussed in separate chapters in Part Two. The authors present a definition for each of these strategies, examples from their subjects, an "aptitude" test, the skills and characteristics necessary, the potential advantages and tradeoffs involved, as well as ideas and insights as to how one might techflex or bundle. Alternating simply refers to shifting between periods of intense work and recovery periods. This strategy is possible for individuals with established professional credibility and with occupations that permit alternating. It requires financial prudence but affords a single-minded focus without permanent sacrifices. Outsourcing refers to having it all versus doing it all. While we all outsource to some degree, outsourcers contract out more than most of us can usually afford to, or rely on a strong support network for that purpose. Outsourcing simplifies life, and the individual maintains a career focus. The tradeoffs here revolve around investing time or money into our responsibilities and assessing acceptable levels of dependence on our contractors. Bundling means packing multiple purposes into one activity, and differs from multitasking (or doing more things at the same time). Bundlers find several useful purposes in a one given activity; for example, coaching a soccer team fulfills the purposes of social contact, community involvement, leisure, and physical exercise. Techflexing is the astute use of technology to foster flexibility and balance. Many of us are familiar with examples of techflexing, including the use of communication devices, online shopping, and telework. Finally, simplifying means the outright abandonment of certain pursuits for the goal of simplicity and living in harmony with one's most cherished values.

Part Three includes three self-assessment chapters whereby readers are guided through the rebalancing process. Readers are first invited to question the assumptions that underlie their choices. This chapter provides refreshing cross-cultural insights into how people manage their busy lives. Second, the authors invite us to identify our current strategies and to assess their fit with our occupation, life stage, career stage, and values. For that purpose, the authors present several "tests," specifically the balance strategies profile (BSP) developed and validated by one of the authors. The final chapter provides guidelines for interpreting test results, choosing strategies, and implementing the small and large changes identified as necessary.

Critique

Busy people (assuming they can find the time to read), and HR professionals who help in the management of busy people, are most likely to find this book enlightening and useful. In addition to reminding us of our daily coping mechanisms, Beyond Juggling provides a guide to improve existing strategies that proved viable, to reduce the strategies that do not yield as much value, and to craft a work-life approach that is uniquely suited to our needs. The authors consistently assert that combining strategies is possible (they provide examples), and that the best combination is one in close alignment with our values and capabilities, our professional and personal "infrastructure," our aspirations, and the resources -- financial, personal, or otherwise -- that are available to us.

Perhaps one unintended but nonetheless powerful message in the book concerns asking ourselves the "tough" questions: Why do we do what we do? Whom are we trying to please? What do we truly want? How is our lifestyle conducive to our goals? What have we sacrificed? What can we sacrifice? It provides an exercise in "thinking" our life, and an opportunity to contemplate its many aspects, rewards, and problems. Most of us will relate in some way or form to the many examples that the book provides, and with these examples comes the hope and optimism that balance may be possible for us after all. Finally, the authors provide extensive aids to our thinking. As stated previously, each strategy is accompanied with assessment and suitability tests, and the last part of the book is exclusively devoted to a diagnosis of our situation and to a practical, systematic design of a life change plan. Some of us might benefit from minor adjustments; others might require major overhauls. In either case, the authors explain the va rious steps involved, and provide questions and tips for a successful transition.

On the other hand, the authors acknowledge the challenge inherent in rebalancing. Many of us have become accustomed to certain lifestyles, even if these do not make us quite so fulfilled. Any change is difficult. Rebalancing is especially challenging because we need to account for the constraints of our situations as well as the "inner" difficulties involved, namely assessing our lives honestly, relinquishing control, learning new skills, and accepting tradeoffs. Nevertheless, our time may be well-spent if a more balanced and rewarding life is possible at the end.

Audience

This book is designed for any reader who desires greater balance and lifestyle sustainability. The simplicity of the portrayed facts and the language used may mislead readers into thinking that Beyond Juggling is yet another self-help book. It is indeed a self-help book but one that goes beyond advice and counseling in that it provides elaborate and practical means of improvement.

Although the book focuses on providing guidance to individuals struggling to manage their personal work/non-work lives, many HR professionals will find this book useful. The Appendix contains a straightforward guide for managers on how to better manage and assist diverse groups of employees (jugglers, alternators, bundlers, techflexers, and simplifiers). Human resource professionals and work-life consultants will find this book most useful for the design of training programs and work-life policies. Researchers will also find the book helps them understand the various coping mechanisms individuals devise to meet their responsibilities. In sum, Beyond Juggling provides information, guidance, and tools that will assist individuals and organizations in managing the work/non-work boundary, and is likely to have broad appeal.