By Striking a balance between work and life can be difficult for anyone. Whether you’re brand new to the workforce or a seasoned veteran, chances are that you’ll struggle at one point or another to find a balance that works for you. We’ve rounded up a few work-life balance tips to help you find your desired end goal.
Defining Work-life Balance
Work-life balance is a new trend on the rise, especially amongst younger generations. It argues that employees deserve a proper balance between their work efforts and time spent working as they do their personal life.
Despite the typical work week being 40 hours, many suffer from the problem of taking home their work or having it spill into personal time, whether purposefully or by default. With a person’s work-life balance out of balance, it can quickly lead to a host of problems.
1. Understand Why Work-Life Balance Is Important
While we ran through a few instances of why work-life balance matters above, it’s important that you really get to know just how much it matters.
Poor work-life balance, as in working too much, can directly lead to things like fatigue, stress, and subsequent declining health, as well as poor relationships overall. As such, that burnout can lead to poor work performance and even dangerous conditions in the workplace.
Take, for example, a forklift operator. If they are suffering from poor work-life balance, they may become depressed and develop a drinking habit that puts them and everyone around them at risk when they are operating their machine.
2. Make Yourself a Priority
One way to continually fight off burnout is to always keep yourself at the forefront. Making yourself a priority can help to prevent burnout before it ever sets in.
Do what makes you feel good and make sure it’s a part of your day-to-day routine. That way, you can help to ward off those overwhelming feelings of a lack of balance by preventing it in the first place.
Consider implementing regular spa days, thrifting outings, or other extracurriculars that make you feel your best. One option available is psychedelics or similar options that can give you a much-needed mental and emotional break.
3. Utilize PTO & Time Off
There is often a negative connotation associated with utilizing your time off despite it being a benefit you’ve earned. Time off from work is not just a luxury it’s necessary in order to establish a clear work-life balance.
Time away from work can help to give you space to learn and grow separate work and give you a much-needed break from all things work. Plus, if you’re truly concerned with work, you’ll be happy to know that time away from work has actually been proven to boost your productivity.
4. Switch Employers
If your current employer is not making the work-life balance possible, it may be time to consider switching industries or employers. Sometimes, the problem can be solvable within your current employer, but other times, you may need to completely overhaul your life in order to balance your wants and needs.
While this may not be a reality for many, if you can afford to, shopping around for jobs can have many benefits for you both in the short and long term. If you’ve tried to work within your current scope in order to find a work-life balance and it’s not possible, it may be time to switch over.
5. Boundaries Are Everything
Don’t be afraid to set boundaries that protect your well-being. There is no single way to structure boundaries, but you can plan based on what makes you feel your best.
That can mean saying no to extra tasks outside the scope of your work or limiting contact with toxic coworkers both in and outside of work. There are plenty of options to make you feel as though your work and personal life can be kept separate.
Conclusion
Finding the perfect work-life balance for you can be a challenge. However, with a little trial and error, it is possible to find a ratio that works for you. Just be sure to set clear boundaries and place tools in place that can help you to keep those two things separate, even when life tends to drive them together.
