5 Tips to Balance Your Work-Life

Balance between your work and home life isn’t impossible, all you need are a few tips to guide you on your way to happier life.

The one thing that seems to be missing these days is balance in one’s life. Work schedules are on overdrive, economies aren’t at their strongest, and family time is limited. Stress runs rampant as people try to find time for themselves as work hours find their way home to interrupt family quality time, exercise routines, and self-care. 

It is important because without it causing several unwanted negatives.

• Creates Fatigue
• Stress leads to poor health and less productivity
• Lack in quality time with loved ones decreases life satisfaction
• Usually reduces time for exercise and hobbies – self-care.

How to balance work and home life

Practical steps to start

1- Disconnect when you are home. Leave work at the office, and allow your technological devices to sit by themselves for a time out while you focus on the rest of your life.

“There are times when you should just shut your phone off and enjoy the moment,” says Robert Brooks, a professor of psychology at Harvard Medical School

Be in control of your personal time and it will give you a break from the stresses of the daily busy work day. Stay in the moment with your family members, loved ones, friends, or when doing something for fun.

2- Release the tension and stretch your muscles by making time to some form of exercise during the week. Exercise is a form of stress relief and good mood booster which help productivity and focus. It can also induce a meditative state, a focus of the moment and break from ever present worrisome thoughts. It is important to take care of your mind and body to be able to handle both work and home life with ease and in good overall health.  Balance your self-care.

3- Remove time-wasting activities and people from your daily routine. By doing this you not only free up some annoyance of the mind, you allow more time for yourself whether at work or home. Give your time only to your priorities, high-priority people like your loved ones for example, important work and tasks for work, and of course yourself. Instead of wasting time on a social media application that may just drain your time for no real benefit, use that time to appreciate something of high importance to you. Instead of listening to office chit chat for example you can politely excuse yourself and use those minutes that would’ve been wasted to complete a work task.

4- Delegate what you can. When life gets busy sometimes its time to give certain duties or tasks to someone else. If you can have someone else pick up your laundry or get groceries or even handle a less important account, try it. It may free up time and energy you could use for higher priorities and reduce unnecessary excess stress.

5- Work smart, not incredibly long hours. Being busy is not the same as being productive. Work that may require 2 hours can turn into 5 hours if the mind is stressed and unfocused. When any of these practical steps are implemented it should be easier to stay in the moment and be more productive in what you do. Set specific time duration for tasks you want to complete, and try to stick to it. Keep on track and you will find that less work hours will cross over to your home life, and more balance will be reached.

Balance in life is what most people strive for. It is important for well-rounded mental and physical health. Balance of time between your work and home life provides better life satisfaction, quality moments, productivity and creativity. A few practical steps can make all the difference to striking that balance. Go ahead and give it a try.