Recently, the question of how to combine work and personal life has become a concern for an increasing number of employees of various companies.
Experts note the growing need for flexible hours, home, and remote work. Constant deadlines, a frantic pace of life, a desire to be on time for everything at once — all this leads to the accumulation of fatigue.
The spent energy is not restored and satisfaction from work is gone. Many are even willing to sacrifice financial success and career growth for personal time.
If all of the above applies to you, then it’s time to rethink your life, learn how to properly allocate time and maintain a balance between professional and personal spheres.
Where is the line between work and personal life?
No specialist will give a clear recommendation, since each person is individual.
Therefore, the balance will be determined differently for each based on activity, values, biological rhythms, etc.
For example, one needs a flexible schedule, another can work only eight hours and not a minute more, the third must go to bed early, and the fourth begins to work actively only after six in the evening.
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Thus, it is impossible to come up with one balance for all. By the way, many people think that the principle of balance is strict observance of the eight-hour working day. This is not true.
The time frame may vary. For example, Henry Ford argued that only workers can leave work at work, and managers should fall asleep and wake up thinking about their business.
How to tell if the balance is out of order
The main signal that you lost the balance between work and personal life is irritation.
If absolutely everything is going on your nerves and you are tired of it, it’s time to change something.
In addition, pay attention to such signs that indicate an imbalance:
– health problems (chronic diseases getting worse, a cold has become your constant companion, etc.);
– the will for a hobby or working out has disappeared;
– decreased work efficiency;
– more and more often there is a feeling of guilt that you spend little time with loved ones;
– thoughts about work do not leave your mind on weekends and on vacation;
– there are no new ideas and a creative approach to problems;
– there are problems in personal life.
If you answered yes to most of the statements, then take an honest look at things and rethink the existing distribution of time and energy.
Here are a few more tips to help you restore and maintain your work-life balance.
1. Plan your time correctly
A lot has already been said about time management, there is a variety of literature and methods, but planning still causes difficulties.
The simplest rule: in the to-do list, select the three most important tasks and put exclamation marks in front of them (five – do it first, three – do it second, one – last).
Always start the day by doing the most important thing, after completing it, move on to other things.
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2. Highlight boundaries
Defining clear boundaries between work, family, and even personal time can be an effective approach to balance work and personal life.
It’s not about the amount of time spent, but its quality. To do this, you must develop the ability to focus on the present, and not worry about the past or about what you should do in the future.
It is also necessary to clearly define for yourself the time when you are available to solve work issues and the time when you are focused on your home or yourself while turning off all work communications.
3. Unite
Any collaboration with other people is a primary source of happiness. People love to feel support or to be useful.
It also helps to create groups or communities of interest or mutual assistance.
First, you need to find out who else might be in search of work-life balance. Is mutual help possible between your family and other community members?
For example, the allocation of expenses for children’s entertainment, the ability to look after your child or when their child can stay with you overnight, and vice versa.
Are there people near you who you can call when you need help? For example, to pick up your child from school when you need to stay late at work.
It is also helpful to simply exchange mobile numbers with other parents in your child’s class for feedback if necessary.
4. Work from home
Some companies offer their employees flexible working hours, short work weeks, work from home, and other friendly policies that are important to a productive and happy workforce.
Look at your position from the outside, maybe you should talk to your manager or HR department to let you work remotely.
And don’t forget to offer them practical ideas on why and how much more effective you will be working from home.
5. Partner for partner’s sake
It is not out of place to say that the main foundation in building a balance of work and personal life, in general, is the quality of relations between partners.
Try not to burden or pressure your partner, but focus on building and enriching the relationship.
6. Allow yourself to be lazy sometimes
In order to be successful, you must be able to be lazy. Follow this rule, especially when you feel that you are standing still and nothing is working out.
Take a day off, turn off your phone, read a book, or watch a movie, but be sure to be alone. And in the process of such a pause, the solution of important issues may come.
7. Learn to say NO
You will agree that a lot of your time is taken up by various requests from colleagues, partners, relatives or friends.
Few people know how to refuse them, because they want to be good, or a person by inertia says “yes” and thereby takes on unnecessary obligations.
As a result, some are simply too lazy to solve their problems, because they can contact you.
This is why it is so important to learn how to say no. According to psychologists, having mastered the “no” tactic, it will be easier for you to communicate with other people and you will become calmer and more confident.
8. Use your skills to be more effective
How we think about the demands on ourselves has a big impact on how we feel and how effective we are.
Think about how your family life and the skills you use at home can make you more effective at work and how your work skills can be used effectively at home.
9. Time for fun
Positive emotions spread to others, and they allow us to be more resourceful, flexible and open-minded, which helps us to be more successful in solving problems.
You may not yet know how to entertain yourself at work or at home, but over time you will feel how much it helps in maintaining a balance between work and personal life.
10. Hobby
Your problem may be that you don’t know what to do besides your work. A hobby will help you take breaks with great enthusiasm, arrange weekends, and take vacations.
It would be ideal if your hobby is shared by your loved ones. This will help both improve relationships and unload the brain.
11. Take a vacation
Many do not take vacations for years, which is extremely wrong. A person must take a break from work for at least two weeks a year.
On vacation, change the atmosphere, leave home and not necessarily go abroad, because there are probably many wonderful places to visit near your city. A new place helps to distract from the hustle and bustle and problems.
12. Working out
Someone will object, how to find time for sports if it is hardly enough for a family and personal life?
But physical activity helps a lot to relieve fatigue and mental stress, as well as distract from problems.
It is not necessary to go to a gym or exhaust yourself with workouts, a morning jog or gym, two visits a week to a pool or dance is enough.
One of the best activities that we would recommend is cycling. It will help you tone your body, clear your mind,and even travel. Invest in a high-quality mountain bike and enjoy your future adventures!
13. Morning rituals
If you work late in the evenings, try to set aside time in the morning to collect your thoughts.
This activity should be your island of tranquillity during a hectic day – drink coffee in silence, go for a run, take a hot shower, exercise, read a book.
It doesn’t matter what you do – it is important that you can devote this half-hour or hour to yourself, collect your thoughts, nd relax.
14. Get enough sleep
Constant sleep deprivation is the first cause of fatigue, bad mood, and poor performance.
Therefore, you need to try to sleep as many hours as you need to fully recuperate. You definitely need to know your sleep rate and try to adhere to it.
It may also turn out that the reason for fatigue is not at all a large amount of work, but that you constantly do not get enough sleep.
By the way, you need to remember that the time for sleep is a constant value and you should not decrease it in order to allocate time for something else.
Conclusion
Work-life balance is very important for everyone. It is impossible to work constantly with high efficiency.
Balance is imperative, otherwise, motivation and strength will disappear, and performance will decrease accordingly.
Soon you will face burnout and the desire to give up on everything.
Therefore, you need to correctly combine hobbies, family, health, nd work. Follow these tips and you will always be in balance.
