What exactly is work-life balance, and how can a proper one be achieved? When juggling the responsibilities of your workday, home life, and relationships with family members and other loved ones, work-life balance is an essential part of self-care.
Work-life balance is a concept that many of us intuitively understand but struggle to achieve. We’ve all felt like demands were piling up on one side of the work-life balance and taking over our days. You may be familiar with the feeling of unfulfilled dreams and desires on the other end of the spectrum, so how can you manage your time and energy so that you feel fulfilled and engaged?
Almost every professional would like to improve their work-life balance, but finding ways to develop healthier routines can take time and effort. That’s why we’ve compiled a list of simple, actionable steps to help you get started on the road to a healthier you, both personally and professionally. This list of ideas should serve as a springboard for you to pursue and achieve your goal of finding a better work-life balance.
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Tips for improving your work-life balance
Some people believe that a proper work-life balance means dividing one’s time equally between work and play, but that characterization is inaccurate. The right balance involves more than just arriving at and departing from work on time; it is about ranking things in order of importance in a broader sense. Prioritizing allows you to save both time and energy. As a result, you can strike the ideal balance between your professional and personal lives. Here are some valuable tips to help you achieve the ideal work-life balance.
Set a schedule
According to some experts, you should ideally spend eight hours on work; eight hours on friends, family, and hobbies; and eight hours sleep each day. However, as reasonable as that may sound, this schedule is only feasible for some people.
Let’s say you’re completing an online MSN, which means it’s likely that you will be working and studying at the same time. During this course, you will improve your nursing practice by expanding your understanding of health and nursing procedures, skills and clinical reasoning. However, you will need to factor in time to study within those 24 hours.
You also have to understand that life is unpredictable, and you may have to spend more time with your family on some days or spend a weekend at work on others. Therefore, you should not pressure yourself to stick to your schedule perfectly.
Instead, you should assess your work-life balance over time. For example, one weekend at work will not affect your work-life balance, but if you work most weekends, it may impact your family life or study. You should therefore create a realistic schedule based on your personal and professional obligations and goals.
Reduce distractions
Remote work can present several distractions. The Pomodoro technique is a working method that focuses on short bursts of work to improve focus. Determine what distracts you the most and use it as your daily motivation. Using these activities as after-work rewards will result in a better work-life balance.
In addition, using social media wisely can help you stay connected with family and friends. Nevertheless, it’s essential to limit your use to after work hours or during breaks. Communication and maintaining contact with family and loved ones are critical for mental health and achieving a healthy work-life balance.
Set boundaries
How many times have you been at home when your phone rang with a question from a coworker? Conversely, perhaps your partner has called you with a non-urgent question while you were at work. One of the most beneficial things you can do to improve your work-life balance is to set boundaries with the people in your life.
You may have to deal with a personal call at work or a work issue at home from time to time, but this should be the exception rather than the rule. Setting boundaries shouldn’t only include others; you can also set them with yourself. For example, you could aim to not do any work on weekends or avoid looking at social media when you’re working.
Switch off
If your work is interfering with your personal life, it is up to you to make changes. The truth is that you must decide to turn off that switch. Nobody else can do it except for you. The good news is that it is less difficult than you think. You will feel better if you relax outside of work and work hard to achieve the right balance. Why not turn off your phone in the evenings and do something outside the office, such as a sport or hobby, to take your mind off work?
Structured workload
It shouldn’t matter when or where it happens as long as the work gets done. Some individuals are most creative or productive early in the day, while others prefer a gentler pace to begin and work best later in the day. To reduce procrastination and the frustration caused by a lack of productivity, we should play to our strengths and structure our work around our most productive times of the day.
The benefits of a healthy work-life balance
A healthy work-life balance has many advantages, including less stress, a lower risk of burnout, and a greater sense of well-being. This benefits both employees and employers. For example, employers who are committed to providing positive work-life balance environments for their employees can save money, note fewer cases of absenteeism, and have a more loyal and productive workforce. Here is a breakdown of some benefits of having a good work-life balance and why they are essential.
Personal growth
A healthy work-life balance promotes personal development. Allowing employees to choose their schedules and the days of the week they report for work empowers them to make decisions about their work and personal lives. This is advantageous to employees because it can encourage them to become self-assured and assertive. This can also assist them in maintaining a positive mental attitude while striving to be more productive and successful.
Reduced burnout
Overworking may harm your health. If you’re sacrificing too much of your time for work, it won’t be long before you start feeling the effects, whether it’s increased stress, frequent bouts of illness due to a weakened immune system, or constant exhaustion. That doesn’t mean you should stop working hard. Many professions require significant time and effort, but it is all about finding that happy medium. Recognizing your triggers and understanding when you’re overdoing it will allow you to spot early warning signs before you burn out.
Less stress
In the United States, workplace stress is ranked as the fifth leading cause of death. Furthermore, a quarter of Americans say their jobs are the source of the most stress in their lives. The main problem is that most people believe they have no other option. However, this is not entirely correct. Remember that your choices ultimately determine your work-life balance. This is also the source of much of your anxiety. You add to your stress by agreeing to take on more work when you don’t have the capacity or by not delegating work that could be delegated.
While we all require some stress to motivate us and help us perform at our best, the key to stress management is a single word: balance. Achieving a healthy work-life balance is not only an attainable goal; workers and businesses alike will see the benefits. Happy and balanced workers are more productive, take fewer sick days, and are more likely to stay at their jobs.
Increased productivity
Contrary to popular belief, long working hours will result in a decrease in overall productivity. Similarly, studies show that people who work with short breaks are more productive than those who work for long periods without taking a break.
Conclusion
Working extended hours or being under pressure can become normalized, even more so if we’ve been doing it for a while or if our co-workers are in the same position. Our habits and assumptions about work can become deeply ingrained unless we step back every now and then. Change is not always possible at work. For example, you might not feel confident speaking up, or you might need to work long hours to make enough money to pay the bills.
Do you work to live or live to work? Many members of today’s workforce are asking themselves this question. For many people, work ends at the end of the day. However, for others, it can extend into the evening and weekend. Some employees welcome it while others despise it.
The truth is that many of our traditional work and perfection expectations are unhealthy and ineffective. Nobody truly “has it all.” Overwork causes burnout and reduces productivity, so companies and employees should do everything in their power to achieve a healthy work-life balance.