Keeping a balance between work and pleasure is sometimes easier said than done, but it is most definitely essential. You need to know when to take a step and allow yourself some down time, and vice versa, you need to know when you need to take yourself away and focus on what needs to be done. When you start your own business work tends to creep up and shadow everything you do, just the desire to be successful can and often does push our wellbeing to the side.
In this blog we will give you a few tips to help create a harmonious work-life balance or work-life integration. It is critical to improve not only your physical, emotional and mental well-being, but it's also important for your career.
What is a work-life balance?
It is the level of equilibrium, the perfect ratio in terms of your career and work to living your life and enjoying yourself. There are a few more common reasons as to why you may have a poor work-life balance:
Increased responsibilities at work
Longer working hours
Increased responsibilities at home
Having children
Keeping a good work-life balance has a number of positive effects. It can help to lower stress and prevent burn out as well as having a greater sense of wellbeing over all. When you own a business having this balance not only benefits yourself but your clients/customers too. This is not a literal split of the hours in the day but the flexibility to complete both work and pleasure. There may be some days where you work longer hours so you know you have time later in the week to enjoy other activities and vice versa.
So, what can you do to create a balance that works for you:
Accept that there is no 'perfect' work-life balance. Although you may hope that there is, it never really is the case, sometimes you may have some jobs with incredibly tight deadlines to meet and the next you may not have any urgent tasks to complete and are left with quite a lot of free time. Don't strive for the perfect schedule; strive for a realistic one, one that you know you will be able to work with and work well.
You need to be fluid and versatile, as well as stubborn to ensure you do not “slack off” too much or work too hard and end up in a burn out. You need to constantly assess where you are vs your goals and priorities. At times you may be needed elsewhere, and other times you may need to travel for work. Allowing yourself to remain open to redirecting and assessing your needs on any day is key in finding balance. What works for one day may not work for another.
Find a job you love doing
They say if you do something you love you never work a day in your life, so why would you not want to do something you love? You then enjoy your time at work, which results in you being more proactive and productive. Being passionate about what you do helps with making your days feel full and not drag on, they make you eager to go into work to get your tasks finished and then start new ones. Sometimes this can mean biting the bullet, taking the leap and jumping right into the deep end and going self employed.
Being your own boss, doing work that you get to choose to do, taking on tasks that you enjoy doing and love getting to do. If you hate what you do, you are not going to be happy, there is no way around it. Of course, you may not love every aspect of your job, but it needs to be exciting enough that you don't dread getting out of bed every morning. If that’s the case maybe it's time to look for something different.
Prioritise your health This means all of it, your overall physical, emotional and mental health. It should be your main concern. So, if you have some days where you are struggling with your anxiety or depression more, take a moment and mention this to your employer, mental health days are something that are growing in visibility. This little break can help you to get things in place to help support your mental health, if you think therapy would benefit you, fit those sessions into your schedule, even if you have to leave work early or ditch your evening spin class. There are plenty of ways around it.
If you are battling a chronic illness, don't be afraid to call in sick on rough days, ignoring your body can lead to you having to take even more time off in longer durations. Overworking yourself prevents you from getting better, it can lead to you reaching a burnout as you will end up feeling exhausted.
You should be your number one priority, putting your health at the front of the line will help you in missing less work in the bigger picture, and when you are there, you will be happier and more productive. Prioritising your health doesn't have to be you taking part in radical or extreme activities. It can be as simple as daily meditation or soft exercise. Work with your body, not against it.
Unplug Unplugging from all that is work is sometimes the best thing to help you with your productivity. Taking the time to almost detox, giving yourself time to recover from the week’s stress. This could be something as simple as leaving the office for your lunch and not looking at anything related to work for that time, or practising meditation on your daily commute, instead of checking work emails. All of these little “sessions” help you regain some more focus by decompressing. Taking that time to unwind is something critical to success and will help you feel more energised when you're at work. You are only human, treat yourself accordingly before you run yourself into a burnout.
Take time off
Take time off, you have annual leave for a reason, do not be afraid to use it. Sometimes taking a week off will be what you need to refresh and recharge. Often holidays go “untaken” due to the worry that they will come back to a backlog of work. This should not restrict you from taking a break, you are allowed to shut off and just relax, the benefits from this are far more substantial than any downsides.
With some proper planning, you can take time away without worrying about burdening your colleagues or contending with a huge workload when you return, it’s about balance.
Spend time with the ones you love
Your work should not be your “be all, and end all.” Yes, your job is important, but it isn’t everything. You should prioritise the things that make you happy, if you do not plan time for yourself you will only lose it, achieving work-life balance requires deliberate action. Planning your time and creating a routine will help you to keep that balance. Plan that date night, go to that concert, be with the ones you love. Just because work is keeping you busy shouldn't mean that your personal life and relationships are neglected.
Your absence is more likely to go unnoticed at work, in comparison to your absence at home. If you are working in a company you are easily replaced, there is non doubt about that, but at home, not so much. Keep that in mind.
Set boundaries Set clear boundaries, if you are out of work, stay off anything related to your work. Don’t look at emails, don’t take work calls and avoid thinking about work.
When you own your own business, or work from home, you should have your times set in stone. If you are finished for the day, you are finished, do not let it interrupt the time for you and your loved ones. There are many things you could do to help this: If you can, have a separate work phone so when you have finished working you can just turn it off and not need to worry about it interrupting your time. Some other “hacks” you could use is, using a different browser for work and your personal stuff. This will create a clear distinction between the two so you will not need to worry about being interrupted by either.
Outsource
Sometimes the best thing to do is to outsource or delegate, it helps take tasks off your plate and gives you time to focus on other matters that may be more urgent.
It is also a great alternative to having to hire an employee as you only have to pay for the time spent on tasks, no holiday pay, no sick pay and no cover needed. Outsourcing to Virtual assistants should give you the reassurance that tasks are being completed productively and promptly, with no worry about missing deadlines or “having to work late because you didn’t get everything done.” It can also help to give yourself a little more freedom as you will be getting more work done in the time you have, so to speak.
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