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Balancing your personal and professional life can be difficult, but it’s essential for a happy and healthy life. These days it can be hard to switch off from work and it can often breach into our ‘free’ time. Life isn’t all about work, or it shouldn’t be! Let go of perfectionism – you don’t want to look back in twenty years and regret not doing more outside of the office.
Work-life balance is a perfect situation where you spend ample time doing the things you like, whether it’s spending time with your friends and family or just taking some time for yourself, while still achieving your work goals. But finding this ideal balance can be tricky. While you may not achieve the perfect balance at first, making a conscious effort will set you in the right direction. Here are 5 ways to make a change and optimise your work-life balance:
Manage Your Time Well
Managing your time is key to achieving a good work-life balance. If you don’t manage your time well, you may feel like you never have a second to yourself. Prioritise tasks and work efficiently so that you can finish on time and head home happy. It’s also important to find time to do the things that you enjoy. Your job shouldn’t take over your whole life. Make plans in advance, find gaps in your schedule and use your free time wisely. Allocate time for yourself or to go out with friends and put it in the calendar so you don’t double book yourself. “Time is free, but it is priceless” – so use it well.
Learn To Say No (& Yes)
It can be hard to say no to your manager, but if your workload is too high you need to stand up for yourself. Saying no isn’t lazy, it’s knowing your limits. Set boundaries and work hours, so that you don’t overwork yourself or sacrifice quality of work for quantity.
As well as learning to say no, you also need to say yes to activities outside of work, even if it means leaving your comfort zone. Being stuck in a work bubble can be isolating. Don’t be married to your job and end up sacrificing your relationships outside of the office. Say yes to plans, you never know, you might just enjoy yourself!
Detach From Work
When your home is also your office it can be very hard to switch off after work, and the temptation to check your emails can be too strong to resist. With the rise of technology making us more connected than ever before and online meetings becoming the norm, we have become constantly accessible which can make it hard to unplug. It’s important to turn off work mode and relax in the evenings, otherwise, work can start to take over your life.
You can easily separate work from play with myReach, which allows you to create organised folders called Workspaces. On myReach you can save recommendations and links to places you want to go to inspire you to do more outside of work. Keeping work-life and home-life separate can also make you less tempted to sneak a peek at a work document after you’ve signed off for the day.
Take Time Off
We all need a break from time to time. Go on a holiday, book that festival or that theatre trip you’ve been thinking about. Do something you want to do without worrying about work, even if it’s just a few days off to relax. You are given holidays for a reason, so use them! See the world beyond your desk. Be adventurous and explore! Make memories that you will fondly look back on, and live your life to the fullest! Taking time off helps you to reset, de-stress and remember what life is all about!
Prioritise Your Health and Wellness
Your health should always come first over work. That important meeting can wait! Working when you are ill will make your recovery longer, so you’ll spend longer feeling down and out – which means no work and no play.
Stress is not only bad for your health, but it can also negatively affect those around you. Don’t let work stress creep into your home life. Reduce stress by exercising, meditating, talking to others and dedicating a chunk of time each week to self-care. Even if it’s just a relaxing bath after work or a cosy night in watching movies, making time for self-care is incredibly important. It’s also important to make time for your hobbies and the things you enjoy. Your health and wellness are key to being happy and productive both inside and outside of the office.
