St. Paul, MN -- (SBWIRE) -- 05/15/2013 -- With so many people looking for ways to bring harmony and balance to their work and personal life, a few basic tips can take you a long way down the road to better balance.

“The problem with the idea of work/life balance is the myth of separation,” says Michael Thomas Sunnarborg, author of 21 Keys to Work/Life Balance. “Work is actually just one element in a much larger ‘circle of life.' The two elements are integrated. The answer to finding better work/life balance is to find the right blend between all our life activities—regardless of where and when they occur."

Sunnarborg offers the following tips for better work/life balance:

- Know yourself. Stop for a moment and decide what you really want and what’s important to you. So many of us don’t know what we want, so our expectations are out of synch with our environment and the people in it. When we are in better alignment with our own goals and desires, our environments—both at work and home—will reflect that back to us.

- Focus your energy. With the growing speed of technology and the plethora of choices available to us, content overload is becoming the norm. Take control of your choices and start paying more attention to the things that benefit you while turning your attention away from those things which drain your energy. Remember that you have the power to choose, so use it!

- Live your passion on purpose. Each of us has gifts and talents to share with the world. Even if you have a talent for cooking, you don't have to be a full-time gourmet chef to bring your passion for cooking into the world. Volunteer to help out at a local soup kitchen or get involved with a school bake sale. Whatever your passion, there are countless opportunities to integrate what you love into your work and life. Be creative!

- Work smarter, not harder. "Working hard" may bring us desired results, but it can also keep us from recognizing unproductive effort, ineffective process, and poor habits. We can produce powerful results without exerting as much effort by thinking carefully through our predicaments, considering past experiences, and aligning ourselves with specific goals before taking action. Working smarter means knowing our limitations, developing healthy and effective boundaries, and learning to love and respect ourselves enough to grow from our experience.

- Go with the flow. Life is like a river, and we're either flowing with the currents of change or swimming upstream against them. Where are you resisting change? How would it be different if you accepted it, or even encouraged it? Try changing something about your routine at work or at home that you have been resisting and see if you can float on the current of change and learn to go with the flow.

About 21 Keys to Work/Life Balance
21 Keys to Work/Life Balance gives busy professionals and people hungry for better balance 21 bite-size nuggets to improve their work/life balance—easy tips to digest and apply instantly to their busy lives. Each key can be read in 15 minutes or less, giving the reader short bursts of inspiration. Printed and digital books are available at 21keystoworklifebalance.com, Amazon.com, and other online retailers. For more information, visit michaelsunnarborg.com