5 Ways To Find That Work-Life Balance
Whether you are working at the office, working from home, or finding yourself in a flexible or hybrid working situation, achieving that work-life balance is difficult regardless. You can reach out and talk to your friends or family to seek advice, read self-help books or even hop on the latest trend from your favorite influencer on Instagram. While this is encouraged, you might not get the advice you need, and you can then end up with even more stress than you started with. And while there is no quick fix, the ideal work-life balance will depend solely on what works for you and your life. And if you are not sure about it at this stage, we’ve put together some general tips to help you on this journey.
Look At Your Work And Your Life
Before you can set the perfect balance (yes, it does exist, but you need to create it), you need to look at your responsibilities at work and home. If your job is demanding and you must check in after hours, you can offset this by going into work a bit later, knowing that you will work that time during the evening. This way, you can still spend time with your loved ones in the morning by either having breakfast together or even doing the school drop-off. So essentially compensating for the time in the evening where you would have spent time with your family.
Another way we can also look at is to fully intertwine your work and home life schedules – of course, depending on your employer and job requirements. Look at the hours you spend at the office and what you need to do at the office, then look at your schedule at home and what you need to do. Synchronize the two. For example, you work at the office from 7 am to 3 pm, then head home and work from 4 to 5 pm. You must make sure you log off at 5 pm and then get into full family mode. In modern times, companies have realized that offering employees the opportunity to create a work-life balance that works for them will ensure employee retention and satisfaction, so make use of this. The point is always to have a better work-life balance and improve on it as and when you can.
Learn To Let Go
Easier said than done. But you need to learn to let go. Not only will this help you to decompress after a long workday, but it will also help you to relax when you do take vacation time. Learning to let go is often the most challenging part of the work-life balance, but it provides you with the much-needed break you so rightfully deserve. While doing a task immediately to get it out of the way does help you down the line, sometimes leaving something for Monday works wonders for your frame of mind. Letting go also allows you to come back refreshed and offer a new perspective.
Don’t Be Hard On Yourself
None of us are superhuman, and this is precisely what makes us unique as humans. We have the luxury of resting, but we often beat ourselves up for taking something as simple as a lunch break. You could be working 40 hours a week and feel fulfilled, and you can be working 60 hours and feel you are not doing enough. In most cases, you are doing more than enough. There are numerous ways and tips to improve your work-life balance, and none of them include being perfect – remember that!
Work Smart, Not Hard
Probably one of the trickier things to do. If we look at millennials, most of us envisaged a world where we can enjoy our lives while robots did all the hard labor – blame those silly cartoons! But of course, this is not reality. Our reality is one where individuals are constantly comparing each other’s workloads to see who “accomplished” the most. And this is not healthy. Now, you don’t need to work overtime to prove your work ethic or even just show you are more than capable of doing your job. You should plan accordingly. Working overtime can negatively affect your home life, and that’s not something anyone wants. Learn to plan your day effectively. If you know you have one week to deliver a 40-page report, over and above your day-to-day tasks, you need to prioritize your daily tasks according to their importance and work on your report every day to complete it by the end of the week. It is that simple. Working overtime is not working smarter, but prioritizing your work and managing in order of importance, is working smart.
Turn Off Electronics
Many of us enjoy doing absolutely nothing, now that does not mean you are lazy. Do you know that book you’ve been meaning to read or that series you’ve wanted to watch since last year? Or even the playpark you wanted to take your kids to? Learn to switch off your electronics and do all the things you want. After work, leave your mobile on the counter and chat with your family, then read your book or watch some TV. Now, this isn’t easy, but it does yield the most reward.
