Work-Life Balance-How many times have you missed your kid’s birthday because you are at work? Maybe you even forgot it’s your wedding anniversary just because you were consumed with work.
Perhaps you work even on Saturdays and receive official phone calls all through Sundays. Is your work-life driving you crazy? Or perhaps you are finding it hard to balance your work and your personal life.
Do not panic, you are not alone in this. All you have to do is read on for tips on how to solve the obvious problem.
A lot of people in the world today find it increasingly hard to have a balance between work and life in general. So many people find themselves in a type of work which is constantly encroaching their personal life.
This routine could cause a whole lot of damage to one’s personal life. If you continue to live like that you may find yourself becoming alienated and less familiar with your family and friends.
A lot of things will pass you by and you wouldn’t even know it. You may argue that you are working for your wife and kids but it will get to a point where they will not accept with such an explanation. This is because your work may have made you too distant from them.
There is a flip side to this issue, and it involves being more inclined to one’s social life than one’s work life. If you belong to this category you should know that it has its defects as well.
Having a balance of both personal life and professional or work life is very important for your progress.
In reality, it is almost impossible to have an actual balance between the two; however, you should have something close to a balance.
Benefits of Work-Life balance
Having a work-life balance comes with various degrees of benefits on both professional and personal life. Some of the benefits are listed below
- Increased focus and productivity: having a balance between your work and your personal life allows you to work with fewer burdens. It gets your mind all in one place and fosters focus and greater productivity.
- It fosters family togetherness: when you have a balance between your work and your personal life, you tend to spend more time with your family. The time you spend with family results in a better understanding of your family members and togetherness.
- It increases your love for work and reduces your stress level.
- Improves health and general well-being: having a balance between work and personal life reduces stress and fatigue which could lead to fever and other health conditions.
Ways to Improve Your Work-Life Balance
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Slow Down
Without a doubt, hard work pays but not all the time. Smart work pays, even more, the richest men on earth are not the most hard-working men they are the smartest working men.
One of the reasons why you have a work-life imbalance is probably because you work too hard. You need to slow down a bit, take time to evaluate your work while relaxing or doing whatever you love.
You need to identify what you love to do with your free time aside from working and take some minutes when you feel saturated or when you have been working for hours and do whatever you love. Maybe it is watching videos or listening to music.
Use this time to meditate on how you can work smarter and spend less time.
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Plan Your Work Day
Another way to balance your personal life and your work is by having a good work plan for the week which allows you to achieve your work goals for that week and still have some personal time to yourself.
The reason you spend so much time at work is probably because you fail to plan out your workday.
Have you ever walked into your office in the morning feeling elated then as soon as you put on your computer to see the list of things you needed to do for the week you become confused.
Before you know what is happening you have spent hours just reading and re-reading the instructions still unsure of what to start with. This is a result of a lack of a plan.
Planning brings about a more efficient way of dealing with your tasks and saving enough time for personal matters.
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Work Hard Play Hard
After you are done with the work of the week, try to create a time for leisure. Maybe it is Saturday morning at the gym or Saturday afternoon outing with the family or perhaps you take out to go see a movie.
Do not concentrate your energy on work alone, save some of it for your playtime.
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Learn to Simplify
Don’t complicate your tasks; learn to keep things simple and easy. Do not try to fix something that already works. Another reason most people spend additional time at work than they should is sometimes due to their inability to keep things simple.
There is a difference between efficiency and overcomplicating things. If you want to impress your boss learn to do things in a different way rather than complicate issues for yourself.
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Learn to Say ‘NO’
Being a “Yes” man may make you prevalent at your workplace, however, it won’t assist you with culminating your bowling (bowling which you never have the opportunity to rehearse in light of the fact that you’re continually helping Sam with his spreadsheets).
Saying no can be testing, however sooner or later; you will figure out that you cannot continue to please everyone at your own detriment.
The more things you state “no,” the additional time and exertion you can focus on yourself and family. One basic word can have a significant effect in the significance of work-life balance.
When you’ve decided your needs outside of work, regardless of whether it’s investing energy with your children or preparing for a marathon, be set up to decrease different commitments that suck time away from those needs.
That implies approving of not joining a PTA advisory group or going to a required supper with individuals you don’t generally like.
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It is Not All About Money
Are you constantly spending more time and always working overtime at work because of the extra cash? If that is the case with you, you need to stop it.
Life isn’t all about money if you keep working all the time to make more money when exactly are you going to enjoy the money you are accumulating.
Working extra hours for more money and not giving yourself the rest your body requires can often result in illness which will not only take from the money you have earned but also prevent you from working for a couple of days at least.
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Eliminate Distractions
In the event that your social life meddles with your professional life, set a few limits. Be firm when you have work to wrap up.
Leave your wireless in the vehicle or switch it off during work hours. Limit personal calls or friendly visits. Defer associating with co-workers until your work is finished.
When you’ve figured out how to streamline your workday, you will see a significant improvement in your work-life balance. Envision realizing that you’re prepared to begin your day as opposed to playing make up for lost time from recently.
As much as it is urged to limit the level of distractions when you are working, it is also important to limit the distractions when you are spending time with loved ones.
Ensure that you are not contacted for trivial official matters when you are on vacation with your family. Learn to separate work from leisure.
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Take a Hard-Earned Vacation
Vacation is a time to rejuvenate yourself psychologically and physically.
Whenever you feel you have become really fatigued and saturated take a vacation, travel, visit places, associate with new people and you are most likely to return to your job with so much flair and positivity after the vacation.
Studies have demonstrated that workers who do utilize their vacation opportunity report back as progressively profitable and more joyful representatives.
Conclusion
As humans, we spend most part of our life either working or for leisure. It is important to find a balance between these two for your psychological and physical wellbeing.
When you work so hard and you get your income, you should reward yourself with something nice. Spend more time with your family and visit places. You will discover that your productivity will improve as opposed to when you bury yourself with work all the time.
