Our lives are becoming increasingly more busy as we strive to achieve careers and work to fulfill our dreams. Sometimes it seems like a never-ending race to get things done during a day that seems way too short. The separation between work life and home life is becoming blurred. We need to find that balance once again to keep us sane and healthy.
Life is already stressful without bringing our work home with us. Family, kids, or other activities that are important to you await at home. If we don’t get time to relax or unwind, work performance and relationships can suffer, and we become susceptible to illness. Work/life balance is important to keep stress levels to a minimum and to not lose ourselves in our constant push for professional success.
Create Your Own Rules
Priorities are different for everyone, so figure out what is important to you in order to strike the right balance. Set up boundaries between work and home to keep work from encroaching on your personal life.
Choose which work opportunities to chase and which to decline. You are the only one who can define success as it relates to you, and know exactly what might make you happy.
Say no when you need to. The ease of technology and communication has made us abundantly available to overzealous bosses after hours. Sometimes we need to disconnect and save those work-related communications until office hours. If you’re not getting work tacked on after hours, you will be that much more productive during actual office hours.
Maintaining Balance
Balancing a busy lifestyle can be a challenge, but setting separate goals for work and home can help keep things in perspective. At work, decide how much you can reasonably accomplish before it’s time to go home, stay on task, and do your best to accomplish that goal. At home, streamline and delegate chores to keep the household running smoothly.
Make time for non-work endeavors that you like such as going to the movies, sports games, or trips with the family. Nurture relationships and find hobbies you really enjoy. Staying focused on non-work activities while home will help you be ready and fresh for work when it’s time.
Take care of your health. Staying strong and healthy will keep you happy at home and productive at work. Make time for exercise several times a week. You can find quick workouts online that can be done at home in a very short amount of time. Eat healthy meals and snacks to keep energy up and sickness away. Avoid bad habits like smoking, drugs, and alcohol, and get plenty of sleep; you can’t be amazing at work or home if you are tired all the time.
Stop comparing yourself to others. You are doing your best and that is something to be proud of. Stay positive and don’t feed the negative thoughts.
Don’t forget about your support system. Love and laughter are the best cures for a bad day. Your family and friends will be there for you when you’ve had an overly stressful day at work. Keep them close and be there for them, too. They will keep your spirits and morale up.
Striking a good work/life balance will keep you healthy and happy while you pursue career goals or any other talent you would like to commit to.
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Written by Julie Morris
julie@juliemorris.org
www.JulieMorris.org
