Everyone talks about work-life balance in present times. In simple terms; work-life balance means the separation between your professional life and personal life. It is the boundary that you create between your profession, career, or business and every other segment such as personal growth, health & fitness, spirituality, family and friends, etc. that make up your life. To maintain a healthy work-life balance one needs to be good at managing time the right way as well as good at prioritization. Often, work takes precedence over everything else in our lives because we all desire to succeed professionally. Although creating a harmonious work-life balance is challenging, but it’s essential for our physical, emotional, and mental wellbeing.
Why Is Work-Life Balance Important In Our Lives?
We all play multiple roles throughout our lives like a professional, parent, partner, sportsperson, friend, or child. And our roles and responsibilities are different for each role and the challenge is to meaningfully prioritize our roles with as little conflict as possible. When we try to achieve a state of equilibrium by prioritizing demands of one’s career and demands of one’s personal life, we can achieve a healthy work-life balance. There are numerous positive effects which include:
- Reduced Stress
- Greater sense of well-being
- Increased productivity
- Lower risk of burnout
- More Mindfulness
- More time for personal errands
- Better personal life
- Higher job satisfaction
According to a study, it is shown that happier people who have better job satisfaction and more personal life are less likely to develop illnesses and stress-related disorders.
What Are Common Causes Of Poor Work-Life Balance?
- Increases responsibilities at work & home
- Stretching your work hours
- Procrastination
- Irregular sleep cycle
- Physical health problems
- Not investing enough time in Personal life
Tips to improve work-life balance at work
Proper Planning
You may have a to-do list with 50 tasks on it, so you start accomplishing the tasks after dividing them into four categories like
- Urgent and important
- Urgent but not important
- Important but not urgent
- Neither Urgent nor important
Have Fixed Work Hours And Stick To Them
Follow fixed work hours. Make sure you are on time to work and end your work for the day also on time. Prepare yourself and do everything in your power to adhere to your work time. Otherwise, before you know it, you’ll be working for long hours every day at your workplace
Take Micro-Breaks
Studies show that even a 30second micro-break can help bring down your stress levels at work. Micro breaks are short, voluntary impromptu respites that keep you engaged on tough workdays. Every 15 minutes briefly looking away for a minute or two to a more distant scene preferably something that is 20 feet away is very helpful. This lets the muscles in the eye relax. Simple stretching also can help. Micro breaks also help process your thoughts and also de-clutter your mind and prepare it to spring back to work again.
Make Your Workspace Comfortable
Keep yourself comfortable at your workplace. Make sure your equipment is in place and works best to improve your work efficiency and prevent any interruption in your work. Try having a comfortable chair, ergonomic keyboard, support stand for your laptop, etc. An ergonomic setting at your workplace is worth every cent.
Practice Being Realistic
At the end of each working day, practice performing a little self-analysis. Question yourself what worked today, or what went wrong, and how the unresolved issues can be fixed. Remember, there are many people like you learning the same lessons every day. So, don’t forget to tap into valuable resources around you like your peers for help.
Five Tips to improve work-life balance at Home:
1. Make Health Your First Priority
Recognize the importance of maintaining your physical, emotional well-being, and mental fitness as your priority towards achieving success in your professional and personal life.
2. Create A Schedule
Once you have committed to setting a work-life balance, it’s a good idea to make clear boundaries. Writing down your goals and commitments will help your work on them more seriously.
3. Unplug from Technology
Studies show that technology can blur the lines between work and personal life. So, simply follow a digital detox regime, once a week and indulge in fun-filled activities with your family or friends.
4. Schedule Time For Your Personal Life
Reserve time in your schedule to carry out the activities that add value to your life and re-energize you.These activities could include a weekly social night, daily exercise, or a date night, etc. It is important to set aside some time to relax and unwind after a busy workday. This may help you avoid burnout.
5. Meditation
Meditation is an excellent way to decompress and disconnect mentally from work once you are back home. Regular meditation is a fantastic option for people who have focus issues or difficulty in unwinding once they are back home. Disconnecting from work can make you more productive and creative and help you focus on your personal growth.
Final Thoughts:
Are you feeling stressed at work? Need more support to establish a better work-life balance? We are here to help Teletherapy in Minneapolis provide the best solutions to help your deal with work-related or personal life-related stress and anxiety. We provide both in-person and online therapy for our clients looking for mental health support. To get an appointment, click here