The phrase “work-life-balance” may be used a lot, but, how much importance do we really give in implementing it to our daily lives that is still questionable.
If you are one of those people who is completely satisfied with your working hours- then great for you. Maybe you are following your passion and your work does not seem to be like work at all hence you derive that high level of satisfaction. Or, it could also be, you know to keep yourself stress free and have great working hours.
However, if you are one of those who get stressed out and are looking for ways to strike the perfect balance between work and life, here we have compiled tips for you to follow:
1. Understand what is causing your work-life-imbalance:
Why are you working so hard? Is it really necessary for you to stay at work for so long? Are you simply working without a right direction? Are you following expectations or benchmarks set by people around?
Find out what is the core reason why you are undergoing so much of pressure. Take a step back and try to see clearly for yourself what you can do in order to change that and bring about a little more organization and balance to your life.
2. Work smartly:
Now that you have come to understand the causes of your stress, now work smartly.
What does it mean?
It means you need to first of all prioritize your work and set standards (attainable) for yourself. Then, avoid work which seems to be out of structure. For example, is that meeting really necessary to attend? If the answer is no, then cut it out.
There is a misconception that working for longer hours will bring in better results. But, that is so not the case. The productivity is at its peak when the stress levels are optimum. Too much of stress and work will simply kill you productivity.
3. Do not bring work home
This is the golden rule to follow. Leave your work at your work place; when you come back home, give time to yourself or your family.
Say you are working so hard for your kids- but, it would be a pity if you are not able to form a strong bond with them.
You can also consider this – you are working so hard to have a good life but if it comes at the cost of your health and well-being, it really is not worth it.
So leave your work at the office – closure is extremely important.
4. Perfectionism can be harmful:
If you fret about every little detail that is going wrong, chances are high that you will end up being frustrated and taking more time to complete something which you could have otherwise completed real quick.
STOP! You do not need to do that. Reviewing your work is extremely important but, it is more important to draw the line and understand where you can cut yourself some slack.
5. Stay away from work e-mail:
Once you are done with your working hours, keep yourself away from your work inbox. It will simply add to stress that you do not really need to take.
If there is something that your team needs to communicate with you urgently, ask them to simply give you a call.
6. Learn to say “NO”:
If you find yourself saying “YES” to every unreasonable demand your colleagues or superiors makes at work, you need to seriously re-consider your actions.
According to The Mental Health Foundation, it is very important for employees to speak up and when they feel that work is getting to them.
7. Organize your life:
As much as it sounds cliché, keep a diary which you can use to track down your daily activities or plan your week.
What to include? The time you keep for yourself (including spa-time), family, chores, friends and everything else in between.
This will help you to get rid of tasks that would have otherwise taken up a lot of your time.
8. Take care of your mind and your body:
Your health is very important. Take some time out for exercise and meditation.
The daily stress is bound to get to you and the daily physical and mental workout is definitely going to be and outlet for the stress.
9. Set rules for others:
If you are instantly ready to jump into any assigned task or are always available for your colleagues, you have to stop that.
Firstly, you need to set a time frame for each task completion and secondly, you need to make your colleagues understand that you have a time frame within which you can get back to them – be it 2 hours or 20. You need to set boundaries for your own well-being.
10. Make your own rules:
You have to understand that people are going to have expectations from you at work.
It is not that you are not going to give your best shot. You will and that can be achieved if you set rules for yourself. For example, if people expect a work to be done in a particular way which you find unproductive. Then, ignore the process and get the work done in the process which you think will bring about the highest levels of productivity.
In other words, learn to ignore what you should have done and do what is the right thing to do as long as it serves your purpose and your work is complete.
There you go; we have outlined some basic steps that you can follow, in order to strike a balance between your work and life.
Remember, your health and well-being is of utmost importance, so you need to take care of yourself!
