Is the Sum of Your Life's Parts Greater Than Each Alone?

As I was flipping through a catalog from Franklin Covey recently, I came across a quote that really reflects one of my productivity philosophies: "The sum is greater than the parts... When it comes to organizing your life, nothing happens in isolation. As you take an active role in planning your days, weeks and months, the choices you make influence each aspect of your life, multiplying and amplifying your results." It is only by proactively planning for each element of our lives that we are able to achieve our optimum overall outcome.

I love the quote of how TEAM stands for "Together, Everyone Achieves More", referring to the phenomenon how many different people working in harmony towards a shared goal will culminate in greater results than any individual working alone. Yet, that quote applies to much more than simply humans working together, including the power of work-life integration.

The are many elements encompassed in life: work, home, community and the private realm of mind, body and spirit. True harmony can come from integrating these various elements together. While the percentage of each day's 1,440 minutes fluctuates between elements as your priorities evolve, the return on investment of time in each element includes enhanced results for all the other elements in our lives. The benefits from one will boost the benefits experienced from others.

For example, by volunteering for a non-profit, we can learn skills that help in our businesses; likewise, managing our teams at work can help when leading our families at home.

According to Dictionary.com, synergy is "the interaction of elements what, when combined, produce a total effect that is greater than the sum of the individual elements", and this can benefit your productivity. Utilizing the synergy between elements of your life leads to better work - life integration and enables you to more thoroughly achieve your desired results.

How do you utilize work-life integration for greater productivity results? Are you regularly auditing your investment of time to ensure the way you're spending your time best reflects your priorities? Are there creative ways to achieve multiple goals with individual actions?