Is work-life balance possible?

As a working professional I find balancing the demands of my job with doing things for myself to be one of the greatest challenges I deal with on a daily basis - a battle I don't seem able to win.

We regularly come across articles telling us how sitting for long periods of time is killing us (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/the-active-times/sitting-is-the-new-smokin_b_5890006.html) and that getting seven hours of sleep is ideal http://www.wsj.com/articles/sleep-experts-close-in-on-the-optimal-nights-sleep-1405984970. But how do you do that when you work long hours - sometimes evenings and even weekends?

In the past few weeks, I've seen my husband work 12-14 hour days. Neither he nor I hold managerial positions but we are frequently required to put in extra hours without getting paid overtime. While no one demands this of us explicitly it is required due to our respective workloads. What ever happened to the 40-hour work week?

I would love to hear about other people's experience and how you are able to achieve a work-life balance, if you are indeed able to do so. While I sometimes wonder if it's just me not managing my time effectively, the fact that so many articles focus on this issue indicates that this is a broader social issue.

Please let me know your thoughts.

Here's an article that pretty much answers my question (but not what I wanted to hear):

http://www.fastcompany.com/3046127/the-new-rules-of-work/these-are-the-new-rules-of-work