How do they do it: top execs share their work/life strategies.

• Author: Stewart, Heather
• Position: EntrepreneurEdge

Launching a new business? Buckle up. Your life is about to get more exciting, fast paced and just plain busy. We talked to local entrepreneurs and top-level execs to figure out how they manage the chaos and create some work/life balance.

[Take Personal Time

"If you don't have to, don't work on the weekends. Use weekends to wind down and refresh for the coming week. Make sure you're taking time for yourself, whether it's a pedicure or a date night. Spending time on yourself makes you feel good and handle stress better."--Kim Jones, CEO, Write

Get Organized

"Find ways as a family to make keeping track of calendars, shopping lists and general activities between work and home super easy. Our family makes this happen with the use a lot of electronics. We use shared online calendars and even have an app that allows us to share our grocery list real-time on our phones so that if I remember we need milk in between meetings at the office, I can add it to the shared list and know that whoever's at the store next will have the most up to date shopping list."--Heather Erickson; head of global communications, Ancestry. corn

Don't Get Sucked into Email

"I try to only look at email two times during the work day in one hour 'sprints: I'll set the alarm on my phone for one hour and get through as much of it as possible during that hour, but no matter what is left unread, I'll close my inbox at the end of the sprint. It's far too easy to get pulled into email and have it consume my entire day and change from a sprint into a marathon. I'll go back to my email at the end of the day after things start to get quiet around the house for one more email sprint."--Randall Hales, CEO, ZAGG Inc

Plan. Plan. Plan.

"I love spontaneity and adventure as much as the next person, but for my regular daily life I realize that planning out the little and big things can save me time, money and sanity. This includes packing my work bag and setting out my clothes the night before so I'm not scrambling each morning. Or setting aside time on my calendar for a date night with my husband or time with my girlfriends. Or scheduling my vacations well in advance to ensure it's reserved on both my personal and work calendars."--Heather Erickson, head of global communications, Ancestry. corn

Have Breakfast Together

"We realized early on that I'd have more late nights than...