Maintaining a healthy work/life balance can seem incredibly hard, but finding that balance in your life is well worth it when it comes to your mental and physical health. When you are overworked or just too busy, you lose out on more than you think, whether it be your family, friends, or simply your own personal time. Finding that balance between work and your personal life will be pure bliss, and you will live a stress-free and healthier life. Here are six tips for achieving and maintaining that work/life balance that we all strive for.
Set Your Work Hours
Set work hours and stick to them! By doing this, you will give yourself a hard out rather than linger around in the office until everything gets done. If you don’t set a time that you need to be out of the office, chances are you will be working late every night. By making sure you are out of the office at a reasonable time, and notifying your co-workers ahead of time, you just may find that work will breeze by as you knock out all of your daily tasks on time. By leaving at a reasonable time, you are giving yourself the time to do personal things such as having dinner with your family, putting the kids to bed, hitting the gym, or even having some time to relax on the couch.
Plan Ahead
Keep a calendar of all of the activities that must get done or that you need to attend. Holidays, birthdays, weddings, parties, kids’ games, and important meetings can all be booked ahead of time so that you know that you cannot work on those days/nights. Knowing the activities that you have and want to attend allows you to prepare for the time you will be out of the office, and gives you a chance and reason to get out of work at a reasonable time.
Take a Vacation
Whether you get paid vacation time or not, it is always worth it to take some time off from work. Plan a vacation with your friends or family or simply take a long weekend to take a mental break. Work can give you stress and keep you from reaching your happiness and desired level of relaxation. Vacation time is great for the family to build a strong bond and create many memories to look back. Some of the fondest childhood memories come from times that families have gone on vacation. Just make sure you plan ahead and alert your co-workers of the time you will be out. This will avoid any urgent emails or phone calls from work.
Exercise
While this may seem like another thing to fill up your schedule, planning daily or weekly workouts is a must. You must think about your health aside from your work and family life. A yoga class or a trip to the gym should not be passed due to extra time spent at work. Exercising is not only crucial for your health, but it will also help you relieve stress and can generate creativity, allowing you to go into work the next day energized and full of ideas.
Ask For Help
Don’t be afraid to ask for help when it comes to maintaining a work/life balance. If you have kids and need a few extra hands to make sure they are well taken care of, then don’t be ashamed to admit that you need help to keep their life going along with your busy work schedule. Each parent should put in their time to take care of the kids, and if you need even more help, it’s okay to ask for help from family, friends, or even a nanny or babysitter. Knowing that you have people to lean on when work does get hectic will help keep the stress away. As the saying goes, “It takes a village.”
Prioritize
There always seems to be a growing list of activities, chores, and work projects to get done. With that, we advise you to write them all down in order of importance. By mapping out your priorities, you can create a schedule based off of the time needed for each. The most important and least flexible priorities should have specific timing set aside for them and should always be taken care of first. If work, your kids’ games, and your health are at the top of your list, then make sure you have enough time in the day for each of them. The less important and more flexible tasks, like cleaning, can be done in your spare time.
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