Sometimes our jobs demand so much from us…from 12-hour days to taking work home, to weekend office hours. This practice causes our health to suffer in many areas. We can’t exercise, we eat badly, and we quickly become known as the friend/spouse who is always working.
If you are guilty of the above; no worries! We’ve all been there.
We have all found ourselves at an event checking emails or subconsciously making a to-do-list in our heads while driving home from work.
Thankfully we’ve developed a few strategies that can help you tackle work-life balance struggles.
Here are five (5) tips to help you attain a more balanced lifestyle:
1. Include downtime, fun time and family time
One of the biggest downfalls is only scheduling work-related items into your week. It’s important to allocate time for other things too – such as gym workouts, binge watching your favorite series, having a Saturday latte at your favourite coffee shop and of course making time for friends and family. Scheduling fixed, fun activities in your calendar keeps them at the forefront of your mind and helps you feel less guilty about making the time for work and play. The great thing is, you know they are scheduled so this reduces the chances of you forgetting family functions, birthdays and other important events in your personal life.
2. Vacation and Breaks are a must!
Being an energizer bunny constantly everyday can be quite draining mentally, physically, emotionally and even spiritually. Taking small breaks or vacations, whether a quick staycation at a local hotel or getting out of the country and unplugging for a couple of days will leave you feeling like a gladiator upon your return to work. There’s just something about a vacation that helps to get those creative juices recharged and flowing again.
3. Just Say No!
This is something many people have trouble with – the power of saying “No”! The truth is, if it isn’t in your schedule; you don’t have time for it. Trying to over pack your schedule will defeat the whole purpose of this work/life balance exercise; you will still be exhausted from fitting it all in. You have to become extremely selective in what tasks you take on and you must be extremely prudent in the management of your time. Saying “No” won’t make you a bad person; it will force others to respect your time.
4. Restructure Your To-Do List
To ensure you keep your life not only balanced but realistic, make your list practical with about 10 items per day, assigning 8-10 hours for some hardcore work. Research has shown that performing tasks in time blocks is extremely effective and boosts your productivity. There are several applications which you can use to assist you in achieving a streamlined focus over a specific time period. An example of such an app is Pomodoro, which sets the time slots for the user with intermittent breaks.
Rolling over items (or worse procrastinating) can leave you feeling overwhelmed, so making a to-do-list pushes you to complete these tasks so they don’t roll over indefinitely.
5. Delegating Tasks
Delegation is key to getting more done in the same timeframe. Where possible, assign tasks to direct reports at work. Personal errands can be assigned to a personal errand service or can all be scheduled for one particular day.
Achieving optimal work/life balance is always a work in progress, but rest assured it can be achieved with the proper management of time, adequate breaks and the management of last-minute tasks.
