Balancing Your Work & Personal Life

Everyone desires a good balance between their work and personal lives. But there are only so many hours in a day to accomplish the things you want to, and between working hard, spending time caring for children or family members, tending to your responsibilities, leisure time, or whatever else is on your plate, it can be easy to lose sight of the fundamentals of wellness in your day-to-day life. With remote and hybrid jobs on the rise it’s more important than ever to take control of you life in a way that allows you to accomplish all the things you need, while still having the capacity to take on everything else. Continue reading to discover how you can incorporate healthy wellness habits into your life and strike a work-life balance.

1. Step Back from Being #1

No one is capable of being number one in everything that they do, and that’s why learning to prioritize and balance the things in your life is so important. The pressure to be the best can take a toll, and recognizing when to go all-out, and when to take a step back, can save you from burnout in the long run. Spending energy perfecting things that are already good will leave you depleted when it’s time to work on the things that DO require extra effort.

3. Take Breaks

When you’re working on a particularly challenging project at work, or going through a serious matter in your personal life, it can be tempting to go full steam ahead. And while there are certainly instances that require hard work and perseverance, wearing yourself out in the process is only going to make the next challenge harder on yourself. If you have trouble taking breaks, or have time management issues in general, try timing your breaks, or even utilize a method such as the Pomodoro Technique to both hold yourself accountable and ensure you’re getting the rest time that you need.

 3. Have a Plan B (Or no plan at all!)

Not everything will go right the first time around, and to limit stress it’s absolutely essential to have a backup plan (or three) in place. Going into your day with a couple of workarounds for things like timing issues, communication problems, and general life stuff, will have your better prepared to tackle problems when they do arise. Even more important than having a plan B is to have the capability to go with the flow. While it’s not possible in every situation, understanding that things won’t always go your way and might require some flexibility is critical in managing all aspects of a busy life. To help with this, you can try incorporating things like meditation or mindfulness into your daily routine.

4. Get Enough Sleep

We’ve all heard this one time and time again, but there’s a reason for it – getting enough sleep is critical to striking balance in all areas of your life. Not only do you perform better when you’re well rested, you also have the capacity to do things like spend meaningful time with friends and family, focus on hobbies, and enjoy your leisure time without feeling exhausted. While it may be tempting to stay up late after a long night of work so you have a few hours to do the things you enjoy, it can actually be detrimental to your free time when you have to spend things like weekends and days off catching up on a lack of sleep or recovering from exhaustion. Instead, focus on finding a balance, and start paying attention to your body to know when it’s time to work, play, and rest.

5. Separate Work From Life

Especially during a time when so many of us are working remote or hybrid jobs, it’s critical to be able to switch off from work, and separate the two aspects of your life. A fixed work schedule may be the solution for some, or if that doesn’t work, you can try working longer days when you need to, and shorter days when you don’t. Another strategy to try is turning off work laptops or phones and not checking emails after a certain time. Or, if you prefer to tackle things as they come up, find a quiet place such as a home office to answer work emails and calls. Take a walk when it’s time for an after-hours call instead of answering it in your living room or bedroom. No matter how you strike the balance, the most important part is being able to separate your work from your life in a manageable way.

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Posted by Emily Couves