According to Wikipedia, a study conducted in 2009 concluded that 39% of working women and 45% of working men experience issues with life-work balance. The desire to succeed in our careers lives mostly takes precedence over everything else. As days go by, our lives become busier than ever before. Achieving a balanced career life and personal life can be challenging. You may be juggling work, personal life, family life, and school.
At this point, without an excellent work-life balance, you will be left exhausted, burnt out, unmotivated, lead a life without a purpose, and have a weakened immune system due to high stress levels. It is crucial to dedicate some of your time to work, rest and even engage in other non-work-related activities. Here are a few management tips that will help you strike a healthy work-life balance.
Plan and wake up early
By developing the habit of intentionally waking up early, you will be conditioning your mind to a more calm, proactive, and productive day. Preparation is an ingredient of a successful day. Plan your day the night before. Set your alarm, lay out your clothes, shoes, choose your face makeup, and beauty products. In general, ensure you have the next day’s schedule and prepare mentally to avoid the morning rush.
Make a daily morning routine with your spare time. You can go for a morning run, meditate, yoga, or do what uplifts your spirit.
Tap into technology
Time tracking software will allow you to have an understanding of how long a given task may take. You can either use customized Excel spreadsheets, Word table or download specific computer programs. With this report, you can see which task takes a lot of your time and make the necessary adjustment.
Creating a document management system will also help in getting organized.
People tend to lose or misplace items all the time and waste a lot of time looking for the misplaced items. You can create a system to help you get organized by putting things back to where they belong.
Set realistic goals and priorities
Set SMART – an acronym standing for Smart, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-bound – goals. Remember that what works for you may not necessarily work for another person. Take time to learn who you are and what works for you. Doing a self-analysis test every day helps you know your progress.
Set clear and achievable goals and then break them into small goals that are doable and measurable tasks. As you cross off items on your to-do list, you will realize that you are making tangible progress, reducing the anxiety and stress of getting things done on time.
Structure your day to improve productivity at work. Pay attention to when you are more active and block that time off for your most urgent and important work-related activity. At this time, get rid of time-wasters like logging in on social media and small office talk that does not add any value to your life.
Set and stick to work and personal hours
It can be tempting to carry work to your home or answer work emails in your personal time. Do not do that. After a hard day’s work, you deserve a good rest to rejuvenate and re-energize yourself to avoid burnout. Remember to take breaks and stretch when working for long hours. It will help you think more clearly, be more focused and be more productive.
Do not forget your mental health. Take time to go out with family and friends. Take a break and go on vacation or meet new people. Go for long walks and breathe in some fresh air. Read a good book, watch your favorite movie and be active in a hobby. Use your “me time” to refresh and entertain yourself.
Prioritize your time wisely
Determine what is significant in your to-do list, and place those tasks into four categories.
Prioritize them as follows:
- Important and urgent
- Not urgent but important
- Not important but urgent
- Neither important nor urgent
A healthy life-work balance has a lot of positive effects including being more productive, less stressed, and a great sense of well-being. It can be very rewarding to evenly and fairly divide your hours between work and your personal or family life. By taking the necessary steps, you will achieve this, and lead a more meaningful and fulfilling life.
