I’ve recently been having those weeks when everything seems to be in harmony. A day of intense work followed by a night of peaceful sleep. A week of productivity and a weekend of absolutely nothing but fun. A tough assignment rewarded with a night out.

It’s the first time I’ve achieved anything that can remotely be categorized as “work-life balance,” and it’s made me happier, more energetic, and increasingly productive in my work.

Here’s what’s worked for me.

1. The week is for working, weekends are for play.
It helps that my plans for the weekend are now made days in advance, so that even if want to back out at the last minute to research another interesting statistic, I can’t. It has to wait till Monday. Even if editors are calling, clients are going bonkers, it’s something that’s non-negotiable. I simply don’t work weekends any more.

2. When at play, detach.
Easier said than done, but every time I’ve taken an off day, I’ve made it a point to forget about work, my financial worries, or whatever else may have been bothering me throughout the week. It’s tempting to work seven days a week, especially if you could use the money, but it’s equally important to recharge. When I come back to work after two days of rest, I’m ready and raring to go and looking forward to the work week ahead.

3. Say no, and say it often
This has been the hardest option for me. It’s always been hard for me to refuse work, and for some reason, the highest paying work will always arrive on Friday evening with a deadline of Monday morning. So far, I’ve taken this work, sometimes happily. But I’ve often ended up over-scheduling myself and feeling frustrated at the end of it.

If you write 4 articles per month at $200 per assignment, you make $9,600 a year, I wrote on my blog a few days ago. If you write the same four articles at $2,000 per assignment, you make $96,000.

(See blog entry: http://www.mridukhullar.com/journal/2008/03/18/numbers/)

The trick is, a reader commented, to go from that $200 to $2,000. How do you do it? Here are some tips:

http://www.fundsforwriters.com/from$200to$2000.htm

This was my first and only assignment with this publication. I never received a copy and the magazine soon went out of business. So if you have a copy lying around from September or October ‘05 or know where I can find back issues, please let me know.

As for the query, some of the things that make it work include:

* The words Harvard study in the title. Look editor, I have proof!
* Thorough research, and new tips.
* A counter-intuitive approach. Instead of how to lose weight, I’m telling you how to not gain weight.

**

Dear [Name of Editor]:

If you’ve been eliminating fats from your diet, it’s likely to result in weight gain! These findings by a 12-week Harvard School of Public Health Study prove that low-fat diets are probably the reason you’re not losing weight, but gaining it. In fact, in order to lose weight, you need to increase your consumption of good fats (monosaturated or polyunsaturated).

The lack of fat in your diet may also be the reason why you’ve been so stressed and frustrated lately. This was proved by an American study at Bowman-Gray University in which scientists separated monkeys into two groups. The first group received a regular-fat monkey diet, while the second group received a no-fat monkey diet. After a period of time, the monkeys eating the normal diet behaved like normal monkeys-playful and active, while the monkeys on the no-fat diet became agitated and violent, with some monkeys nearly killing each other.

However, women frequently make the mistake of eliminating fats from their diet and end up causing more harm than good. And that’s not all they’re doing wrong.

In my article “Diet Not Working? 10 Food Mistakes That Make You Fat” I’ll talk about many such follies that even smart dieters fall prey to. For instance,

* Giving up your favorite foods: “When you’re turned on by food, you turn on metabolism,” says nutritional psychologist Marc David. In fact, research shows that if you eat a chocolate ice-cream cone with complete delight, the hypothalamus sends out signals that stimulate a fuller metabolic breakdown and more efficient calorie burning than if you feel guilty while eating it. So instead of feeling bad every time you touch the cheesecake, enjoy it.

* Skipping meals: Next time you’re tempted to skip a meal, don’t! Your central nervous system interprets such behavior the same as if you were under threat and initiates a fight-or-flight response. It assumes that it needs to start storing fat, hence reducing your metabolism and the ability to burn calories.

* Staying busy to avoid the thought of food: You should be doing the opposite! The best way to jump-start your metabolism each day is to think about and plan for each meal and snack. When it’s time to sit down for a bite, take time out of your busy day. Don’t eat while working or engaging in other activities that occupy your mind. Concentrate fully on enjoying your food and that’ll speed up your digestive efficiency by up to 30%!

Marc David, nutritional psychologist and author of The Slow Down Diet: Eating for Pleasure, Energy & Weight Loss has already agreed to an interview and I will be contacting other nationally-recognized experts and authors as well.

As a full-time freelance writer, I’ve written over 200 articles for over a dozen national publications and several regional magazines in countries such as USA, Australia, England, India and Bahrain. I’ve also contributed articles to several known US-based and online publications including Chicken Soup for the Soul, Writer’s Digest, Wedding Dresses, College Bound and Senior Connection.

May I write “Diet Not Working? 10 Food Mistakes That Make You Fat” for you?

Very truly yours,
Mridu Khullar