6 Proven Work Life Balance Tips For A Happy And Productive Life
The days of 9-to-5 are long gone. Due to COVID-19 Pandemic, rise in freelance work, telecommuting, job sharing, and more.
Today’s professionals have to find a way to juggle their commitments at home with their professional responsibilities at work.
With this evolving workforce come new challenges for maintaining a healthy balance between your personal life and career.
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How To Achieve Work Life Balance (6 Proven Tips)
If you feel like you’re a prisoner to your inbox, a slave to your smartphone, or that there’s not enough time in the day to do everything, don’t worry. It’s not just you.
The vast majority of working professionals today face these issues, and they need solutions that can bring calm back into their hectic lives.
Establish boundaries for yourself and others
Minimize distractions by turning off notifications on your phone and computer
Get a good night’s sleep.
Create a routine for yourself that includes exercise, meditation, and healthy eating habits
Set realistic goals so you can feel accomplished with smaller steps
Take care of your mental health
1) Establish boundaries for yourself
It’s all about you. You might be the boss or manager, but that doesn’t mean you’re invincible.
As a leader, managers must set boundaries with their employees. Employees need boundaries, too. They need to know what is expected of them and how much time they can expect to work on specific projects, so they don’t overwork themselves.
One of the most common issues professionals deal with nowadays is answering emails after or during weekend hours.
If this is something you do often, set parameters for yourself so you are more efficient when replying or checking messages during off-hours.
Set aside 2-3 designated times in the week where you will answer emails outside of business hours, and stick to it.
2) Minimize distractions by turning off notifications on your phone and computer
Too many people are guilty of checking their smartphone every time they get an email or text message, immediately under the assumption that it’s an emergency or must be read ASAP.
This behavior is detrimental because it prevents you from focusing on the work at hand, which contributes to feeling overwhelmed throughout your day.
To minimize distractions, turn off all unnecessary notifications for apps like email, Twitter, Facebook, etc., so you can have more control over what messages come through when.
In addition, you’ll regain some sanity if you don’t feel obligated to reply right away.
Also, remember to silence your phone during meetings and conversations with other people face-to-face!
3) Get a good night’s sleep
To be successful in life, you have to think straight and make sound, conscious decisions.
If you’re not getting enough sleep or quality sleep the next day, you are less likely to be productive at work.
Plus, lack of sleep can affect your emotional state of mind by making you overly emotional or stressed during your daily activities.
The best way to achieve a good night’s rest is to create a reliable sleeping routine that works for you – find out what time of day is ideal for your body clock and stick to it as much as possible.
Start by going to bed earlier, waking up at the same time every day (including weekends), and getting rid of all screens (phones, TVs, etc.) at least an hour before you doze off.
4) Create a routine for yourself to include exercise, meditation, and healthy eating habits
It’s hard to run your errands without being interrupted by people who want something from you or by the seductive pull of social media on your smartphone.
And it can be tough to eat healthily when lunch plans are made last minute, or there isn’t always time to cook meals from scratch due to professional demands—plus working out? Almost impossible!
When establishing a healthy living regimen for yourself, remember that it might take some time until these activities become second nature. Take it day by day and don’t go too extreme with your regimen initially.
5) Set realistic goals so you can feel accomplished with smaller steps
It’s easy for us to get caught up in the moment for our goals, but sometimes we forget that these goals take time and dedication.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed with your professional or personal commitments, then maybe it’s time to reevaluate what you want.
Take some time out of your busy schedule to reflect on what you want in life – do this by asking yourself “what is important” and “what would make me happy” questions.
So you can determine if there are areas where you could improve or areas where you might need to decrease your commitments.
Also, consider working backward step by step to create reachable goals that will feel more achievable than trying to overhaul your entire schedule.
6) Take care of your mental health
Sometimes we get so wrapped up in our own lives and problems that we forget to appreciate what’s important.
Doing something fun or rewarding for yourself is a great way to improve your mental health by re-centering yourself at the end of a hard day.
The activities can include spending time with friends and family to getting lost in a good book, watching funny cat videos on YouTube, or even having a bubble bath (for those extra stressful days).
You’ll feel better about yourself if you treat yourself every once in a while instead of putting pressure on yourself to achieve everyone else’s expectations.
Remember: Being overwhelmed can cloud your judgment and make it harder for you to focus on the positive parts of your life.
So, try to keep it together and remember that you deserve a break every once in a while.
There’s nothing wrong with taking some time out to relax and recharge so you can get back to crushing it tomorrow.
Final Thoughts:
There are a lot of different ways to maintain a work-life balance. The key is finding what works best for you and your specific situation. For example, you may need more time at home with the kids or less time spent on social media each day.
No matter how much we try to find an average answer that will fit everyone’s needs, there isn’t one perfect solution.
Instead, every individual has their own unique set of circumstances they have to consider before making any changes in their lives.
By following the tips in this article, you’ll have a much easier time trying to strike your perfect balance.
Sure it might take a little bit of trial and error at first for you to discover what helps you get through your week with less stress. But once you find out what works best under your terms, then life will become that much more manageable.
I hope you enjoyed this article on ways to find your work life balance! Kindly share your comments and feedback in the comment section below.