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Barbara Corcoran: Work-life balance 'just doesn't exist'—strive for this instead

Barbara Corcoran attends the premiere of ABC's 'Shark Tank' Season 9
Rodin Eckenroth | Getty Images
Barbara Corcoran attends the premiere of ABC's 'Shark Tank' Season 9

No matter where you work, you've probably grappled with the best way to balance work and personal responsibilities. But according to self-made millionaire Barbara Corcoran, if you're striving to achieve "work-life balance," you're wasting your time.

"It just doesn't exist," she says on her new iHeartRadio podcast, "Business Unusual with Barbara Corcoran." "I searched for it for the first 40 years of my life and then gave up — and I'm a lot happier for it."

After decades of trying to integrate her work and personal life, the real estate mogul and mother of two decided to change her strategy and compartmentalize instead. "I found that the best way to juggle the responsibilities was to clearly divide my attention and time between work and home," she says. "So when I'm at work, my husband Bill wouldn't dare call me and the kids don't call unless they're dying."

When she comes home after work, the first thing she does is plug her phone into the hallway and "I don't touch it until I'm walking out of the door in the morning," she says. That way, she's not even tempted to respond to work-related emails or texts.

The clear separation between work and home allows Corcoran to "dedicate 150 percent of my energy to each," she says.

Rather than striving for "work-life balance," or finding a way to jump between personal and business related tasks throughout the day, she focuses on being "a great mother and a great boss," Corcoran tells CNBC Make It.

"I'm out to grow two strong children and a business that makes a difference and is hugely profitable. Now that I know that work-life balance will never exist because they both pull on the same person for attention — me — I strive to be 100 percent present with my family and friends when I'm with them and 100 percent present when I'm hustling at work."

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