Facebook's Sheryl Sandberg puts work life balance in perspective. The former executive at Google and current Facebook COO has a much different philosophy concerning her career and family. Sheryl Sandberg has publicly thrown a wrench in our thinking by declaring that she leaves work everyday at 5:30 pm to be home in time for dinner with her children. You read correctly - 5:30! How many of us have worked under the belief that we have to sacrifice our children and families to have a great career? We have accepted that there is a trade off, one that we don't particularly like. But Sheryl Sandberg recently admitted in a video for Makers.com that she is a firm believer of creating good work life balance:

It is part of American culture to be constantly moving forward. From the second we wake up in the morning until we go to sleep (well, I don't sleep much!) we as a society simply rush towards the finish line, trying to accomplish as much as we possibly can in a 24 hour day. While work is important and the desire to be successful is a fantastic goal to have, learning to balance family with career is another goal that should top your list. Balancing career and family can be tricky; do not be hard on yourself while in the process of finding what works best for your lifestyle. Practice patience, forgiveness and trial and error during this process. Do what you can until you can do it all. Here are five suggestions on ways to balance work and family: