Last weekend, readers participated in my third annual Weekend Poll looking at just how much assistants give of themselves to their careers.

The results showed that the percentage of readers who consider themselves workaholics declined over previous years, but the results also led me to consider how much separation we achieve between our personal and business lives. Just one example …

66% of you check email before leaving home

… and I get it. While I’m now dedicating myself full time to training, speaking engagements and writing, I used to be the same. I thought I was doing well in that I’d refrain from checking or responding to messages until after my morning routines, but I was still “on” even before I left our front door each morning.

A lower percentage of respondents (40%) reported checking email during your commutes, and I suspect that this may reflects commuting practices. It’s heartening to anticipate that readers don’t text and drive!

However, all but 6% of last weekend’s poll respondents reported that you check email from home, with roughly 68% of you routinely checking email at least three days or evenings a week.  

Why do you do this? 

I can guess at some of the the answers you may identify, and I get it. When we’re constantly available and on, though, what does that say about how we prioritize our personal lives? That leads to me asking, for the fourth consecutive year:

Do you have a healthy life-work balance?

Are you achieving a healthy balance between your personal and work lives?

Please take a couple of minutes to complete the poll below. As always, I look forward to hearing what you have to say and will publish results next week.