If you are hoping to be completely at peace with yourself, then a good life balance is vital. We each have different stresses that can take a toll both physically or mentally. You may find yourself suffering from insomnia, headaches and low energy. These things all contribute to not having a work life balance. Here are some simple ways you can perfectly manage both aspects of your life.
Reflect and Amend
For each activity or daily task you carry out, ask yourself what went well and what didn’t. You need to make sure that you’re setting yourself limits and not being afraid to say no sometimes when you feel it will upset the balance. Consider taking a tech-holiday, this could be putting restrictions on when you’re using your phone or laptop, turning off notifications or even deleting apps. An unhealthy life balance might be hard to identify, is your mental health being impacted by your current lifestyle? Are you working longer hours then you should? Do you feel yourself unable able to switch off? All questions you should be asking yourself regularly.
Set yourself boundaries
It is okay to say no. If you are feeling overwhelmed there is nothing wrong saying no to different tasks. You can think about whether these tasks are important or urgent and what you will achieve by doing them. You could even look at our blog post on prioritising.
Work smart, not hard
Make sure that you are working efficiently so you don’t waste lots of time. You could ask a colleague for help with this. If you notice that someone in your office has a great work life balance, ask them what they are doing to maintain this. Working smart also includes making sure that you’re only working at work. Try to get all the important tasks done before you leave work and prioritise what needs to be done and what can wait. There is nothing wrong with delegating.
Take breaks
Take regular breaks when you’re at work and make sure that you’re not eating your lunch at your desk. Without taking adequate breaks from work, employee productivity, mental well-being and overall work performance begin to suffer.
Ask for help
If you’re really struggling with your workload you can always ask someone for help. If you take the step of asking someone for help you implicitly say to yourself that you are not infallible. Asking for help is an important part of a growth mindset. People with a fixed mindset often see it as sign of a lack of ability while people with a growth mindset often see it as a sensible step forward.
Analyse the relationships in your life
Ensure that you are still making time for the people in your life. Even if that’s through a text or a phone call just keep in touch with friends and family. Have date nights with your partner and talk about the peaks of your day, focusing on the positives.
Make time for yourself
Find time in the day to relax and have time to just be with yourself and reflect on your day. According to Dr. Rob Hicks you need to spend 5 minutes doing something you enjoy. “Play the piano, listen to some music, whatever takes your fancy. Then gradually extend it to 10, 15 minutes and so on. Before you know it you will have made the time to do what you want to do and you’ll be more relaxed, so more productive in other areas of your life.”
Remember tribers that perfectionism is a myth and completely unattainable. Nobody is perfect and everyone’s experience of life balance is going to be different. You are amazing and it is okay to take a break and ask for help when you need.