How many times have you heard that? I know, I know, it sounds a bit cliché, and it is. However, it doesn’t mean that there isn’t some truth to this.

Look around on the internet, especially the blogosphere, and you’ll see that personal productivity has become one of the largest niches out there. From great sites such as Lifehacker, 43folders, lifehack.org, and others, you see it everywhere. People like David Allen, of Getting Things Done fame, are moving from self-help sections of the book store to interviews in Wired and Business 2.0.

So if Getting Things Done has become something of a mantra in the modern knowledge workplace, how does that relate to work/life balance? Some may be thinking, “Hey, I’m overworked, learning to do more isn’t going to make things any easier!” If you look at things from an alternate point of view, however, getting things done faster doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re going to have to double your output in the same amount of time. Rather, it can mean that you can get the same amount of work done in half the time. And if companies are considering going to more of a results based work environment, then that gives you the flexibility to better manage your own schedule and thus your own blend.

So while those numbers above are purely for illustrative purposes, if you can find an extra half hour a day, where you’re not scrambling to finish things up, where you can plan ahead and feel a little more in control of your destiny, isn’t it worth it to at least investigate the possibility?

This is a topic I’ll be exploring a fair bit, so if there are directions you’d like to see me take this, please let me know, either in the comments below or drop me an email at adam@liveworkbalance.com.