A work-life balance is achieved when you feel productive and efficient at work, and still have time to take care of and enjoy other aspects of your life.
Balancing professional and personal life can be challenging, but it’s essential because work takes over everything else in our lives.
The common reasons that lead to poor work-life balance include:
Increased responsibilities at work
Working longer hours
Increased responsibilities at home
Having children
In most cases, employees who spend most of their time working will feel like they are neglecting other important parts of their life, including family, friendships, time for fun and time to take care of themselves both physically and mentally.
Here are some ways to create a better work-life balance;
Plot some personal time
When personal issues come up, sometimes it can be tempting to bury yourself in your work. Don’t do it If you don’t make time for your personal life (your “me” time), which includes your family and your health because you won’t have a business to go back to
Set daily manageable goals
Start with making a list of your goals for the day. If your priority task is difficult, sometimes it helps to complete a few easier tasks first. There’s nothing wrong with ramping up with easier goals and then tackling more difficult ones.
Write down your daily goals each morning so that you can think and visualize what you need to accomplish.
Prioritize your health
Your physical, emotional and mental health should be your main concern. If you struggle with anxiety or depression and think therapy would benefit you, fit those sessions into your schedule, even if you have to leave work early. Overworking yourself prevents you from getting better, possibly causing you to take more days off in the future.
Communicate
Most people especially co-workers complain about their managers because of less flexibility or feeling overworked. But how many of those co-workers actually communicated their discontent with the boss? A simple communication with your boss about areas of discontent can make everyone’s work-life better.
Have set work hours and stick to them
Set work hours for yourself and do everything in your power to stick to them. Otherwise, you may end up working until midnight every night.
Find a job that you love
If you hate what you do, you aren’t going to be happy and simple. You don’t need to love every aspect of your job, but it needs to be exciting enough that you don’t dread getting out of bed every morning. You may be working in a toxic environment, or doing a job that you truly don’t love. If this is the case, it may be time to find a new job.
Get enough sleep
Getting enough sleep is one of the most important things you can do for your overall health and well-being. Individuals who consistently get less hours of sleep a night are at a greater risk for developing diseases. Sleep helps reduce stress, increases alertness and improves memory.
Take time to make time
There are plenty of tools you can use to track everything from the frequency and duration of meetings, to chasing and converting leads.
Time-tracking software allows you to build an understanding of how long a particular task will take, as well as effectively estimating how long your next work task will take.
Learn to say No
Learning to say no to people when you need to is a great technique to balance work and life. If you are a “yes” person, you are probably not performing the way you want to in all aspects of your life, including work and relationships. Prioritizing what’s most important in your life and saying no to the things that aren’t a priority, will keep you balanced.
Set goals and priorities and stick to them
Pay attention to when you are most productive at work and block that time off for your most important work-related activities. Avoid checking your phone every few minutes, as it’s a major time-wasting tasks that derails your attention and productivity. Structuring your day can increase productivity at work, which can result in more free time to relax outside of work.
Limit time-wasting activities and people
Make a list of the most important things in your life then layout strict boundaries to devote quality time to these activities and people. Once you’ve determined your priorities, it will be easier to look at how you’re spending your time and who you’re spending time with. Set a time limit on using the internet or social media to minimize wasted time.
Meet clients halfway
Don’t always agree to meet a client at their office. Instead, meet halfway, perhaps you could meet at a café or restaurant. This will save you time and energy, not forgetting the money spent on traveling.
Take a break
Never forget to take time out throughout your day. Some tasks are easier than others, you could make it a point to get up and stretch every 15 minutes. It will help you become clearer and more focused.
We desire to succeed professionally and push aside our own well-being but creating a harmonious work-life balance is critical to improve not our physical, emotional and mental well-being, but most importantly for our career.