The Importance of Finding A Work-Life Balance

Do you ever come home after a long day and find yourself still refining your to-do list for tomorrow in your head? Or, you might be on vacation and off the clock, but you are still checking your emails because you just “have to” deal with a few things.

It can be hard to turn the professional mentality off, even when you are relaxing – or trying to relax.

Why is work-life balance important?

We know what you’re thinking – it is this impossible state of mind where you actually work enough to get your job done and keep your employer happy, while still having a normal and fulfilling social life.

But, with a little effort and the right tools, you can find ways to achieve that comfortable balance between your personal life and your professional life. And with a work-life balance comes: less susceptibility to burnout, attention paid where and when it is due, increased efficiency, and improved health, among other things.

Tips for Achieving Work-Life Balance

There is no magic formula that works for everyone in every profession, but try any or all of these and see what happens:

Prioritise.

You might find yourself having a hard time achieving work-life balance because you feel like everything has to be done in one day. However, while there are things that are urgent, there are also things that can wait. Learning to properly prioritise will demonstrate this, you may like to try the ‘Eisenhower Matrix‘ if you aren’t sure where to start.

Set scheduling boundaries.

Plan out your day and focus more on being productive during the hours you are at work, rather than just planning to work until you’re done.

Try sectioning off your day. For example, pick a task and allow yourself the allotted amount of time it should take you to finish that task, then move on. Do this for your entire day and rearrange as needed.

Try meditation.

It can be hard to turn your brain off and achieve true relaxation. However, meditation can help guide you to that peaceful place. If you aren’t familiar with meditation, or would just like it to be organized, here are a few great apps to try:

• Headspace
• Insight Timer
• Smiling Mind
• Calm
• Simple Habit
• Deep Meditation
• Spotify – guided or music meditations can be found from as little as 5mins to hour lengths.

Turn off all notifications you can.

You might have a job that requires you to have email or phone notifications on at all times, however, if your job doesn’t call for this, turn them off during your RNR. You are more tempted to keep working if you keep checking out what is going on after hours.

It is all about what works best for you. While you might feel anxious at first setting work-life boundaries, you will over time become more productive. This is because, when you strike this balance, you are more likely to feel relaxed and happy correlating to more productivity during the hours that you are on the clock. Likewise, you will be more attentive during the hours that you are with your family or when you are rejuvenating by yourself.

Start the new year off right by learning how to focus on work when it’s work time, and on yourself when it is personal time.