Top 10 Tips to Achieve a Work/Life Balance
Today's post is about something I feel a lot of us are often challenged with especially those of us in the working environment.
So here's a few tips on how to achieve a work/life balance.
Please note all views in this post are strictly mine and not in any particular order. Apply where necessary.
1. Aim to get enough rest/sleep for the next day. The recommended sleep time for adults is 7 - 9 hours of sleep. Anything short of this for a prolonged period of time is only setting your body up for a burn out.
I know it can be very tempting to go on social media, or reply to that email or text message. Ask yourself this question "is this important, can it wait till the next day". This will help you create a disciplined structure. The 'Do Not Disturb' is your best friend.
"Early to bed = early to rise"
2. Always stay hydrated. It doesn't matter what line of work you're in. Working requires mental energy and sometimes work can get really hectic which is why you can't afford to be dehydrated. Have a bottle of water on you wherever you are or if you are one who does not like water have some fruit juice handy. Drink them at intervals.
3. Unless absolutely necessary, AVOID coffee at all cost. Apart from the obvious reasons it really isn't good for you and it can be very addictive. It took me a while to get myself off it because I became so dependent on it so take it from someone that has experienced it, coffee should be a no-go zone.
Trust me I know there are days where you are hardly getting by and you need that quick boost but if you have other alternatives to energize you please do so. My alternative is green tea. Find what works for you.
4. This is especially for the autumn/winter period- make sure you have your 5-a-day. Lol I know it sounds silly but this is the period the sniffles is going around and it's even worse when you are in a confined environment.
If you don't like fruits you can always have vitamin C in liquid form, just get the tablet from any drug store and drop it in water. Bloop!
Also make sure you wash your hands as often as necessary and have a sanitizer handy. Your immune system needs to be in tip top shape to avoid you falling ill. You'll be surprised at the amount of people that call in sick to work each year (and the stats keep growing).
5. This actually ties into point 4, if you're overburdened with work and stressed out it runs you down. Do not overwork yourself; a lot of us are guilty of this.
If you feel overwhelmed with the workload, reassess and take things down a notch. If you can't meet deadlines have a word with your manager and give them a realistic view of your current situation.
Believe me when I say sometimes all we need to do is work smart.
Being busy does not necessarily mean you are being productive and some of us confuse busyness with productivity.
You simply could be busy doing nothing or just busy looking busy. This strips away all elements of productivity. So make a decision to focus on being productive rather than being busy because it actually drains less of your energy and you have less chances of burning out.
You can have someone on a 6 hour shift get more done than someone working a 9 hour shift; and this is because one of them is actually working smarter making the hours count rather than counting the hours.
6. Arrive at work earlier if you can to get a head start on the day. Create a priority list for outstanding work and emails, 1 being the most important and 5 being least important.
Now sometimes in the working world, things can be thrown on your plate last minute and it sometimes pushes some things down the priority list. I still strongly suggest maintaining the priority list if you can otherwise you will find your whole day in disarray and you lose track of what you're meant to be doing because you are burning too many candles at once.
7. Take regular breaks away from work area. This is actually very helpful because sometimes we actually get less done due to being tired and reaching a state of mental block. This can happen when you are staring at the same thing for a long period of time. That being said it is not a license to wander away and get up to no good because I promise you someone will notice when you are absent from your desk for a long period of time. Please apply discretion.
8. As we all know "knowledge is power". Always be one step ahead and on top of your work. If it means studying materials/documentation during out of office hours, doing extra qualifications (which work can pay for sometimes) just do it. You'll be good for it and it puts you in a better position at work too.
Make yourself an asset wherever you go.
9. Just before you round up on your working day, in your notepad write down an agenda for the next working day. This helps the day to run smoothly because you are clear on what needs to be done rather than scrambling your brain for a starting point.
10. Finallyyyyyyy. Do not beat yourself up if you find yourself unable to juggle the work/life balance. Just keep trying until you find what works for you.
I know I said 10 tips but I'll just add this little tip (cheeky me ayy).
Please cherish and value your weekends. You'll be surprised at how quickly it goes.
Rest as often as you can and yes you are allowed to say no to some requests (if it is not necessary or important).
It can be very tempting to want to pile a lot of things into our weekends but if you wear yourself out thin and Monday hits you'll only be worse for wear.
So here's a few tips on how to achieve a work/life balance.
Please note all views in this post are strictly mine and not in any particular order. Apply where necessary.
The Work/Life Balance
1. Aim to get enough rest/sleep for the next day. The recommended sleep time for adults is 7 - 9 hours of sleep. Anything short of this for a prolonged period of time is only setting your body up for a burn out.
I know it can be very tempting to go on social media, or reply to that email or text message. Ask yourself this question "is this important, can it wait till the next day". This will help you create a disciplined structure. The 'Do Not Disturb' is your best friend.
"Early to bed = early to rise"
2. Always stay hydrated. It doesn't matter what line of work you're in. Working requires mental energy and sometimes work can get really hectic which is why you can't afford to be dehydrated. Have a bottle of water on you wherever you are or if you are one who does not like water have some fruit juice handy. Drink them at intervals.
3. Unless absolutely necessary, AVOID coffee at all cost. Apart from the obvious reasons it really isn't good for you and it can be very addictive. It took me a while to get myself off it because I became so dependent on it so take it from someone that has experienced it, coffee should be a no-go zone.
Trust me I know there are days where you are hardly getting by and you need that quick boost but if you have other alternatives to energize you please do so. My alternative is green tea. Find what works for you.
If you don't like fruits you can always have vitamin C in liquid form, just get the tablet from any drug store and drop it in water. Bloop!
Also make sure you wash your hands as often as necessary and have a sanitizer handy. Your immune system needs to be in tip top shape to avoid you falling ill. You'll be surprised at the amount of people that call in sick to work each year (and the stats keep growing).
5. This actually ties into point 4, if you're overburdened with work and stressed out it runs you down. Do not overwork yourself; a lot of us are guilty of this.
If you feel overwhelmed with the workload, reassess and take things down a notch. If you can't meet deadlines have a word with your manager and give them a realistic view of your current situation.
Believe me when I say sometimes all we need to do is work smart.
Being busy does not necessarily mean you are being productive and some of us confuse busyness with productivity.
You simply could be busy doing nothing or just busy looking busy. This strips away all elements of productivity. So make a decision to focus on being productive rather than being busy because it actually drains less of your energy and you have less chances of burning out.
You can have someone on a 6 hour shift get more done than someone working a 9 hour shift; and this is because one of them is actually working smarter making the hours count rather than counting the hours.
Now sometimes in the working world, things can be thrown on your plate last minute and it sometimes pushes some things down the priority list. I still strongly suggest maintaining the priority list if you can otherwise you will find your whole day in disarray and you lose track of what you're meant to be doing because you are burning too many candles at once.
7. Take regular breaks away from work area. This is actually very helpful because sometimes we actually get less done due to being tired and reaching a state of mental block. This can happen when you are staring at the same thing for a long period of time. That being said it is not a license to wander away and get up to no good because I promise you someone will notice when you are absent from your desk for a long period of time. Please apply discretion.
8. As we all know "knowledge is power". Always be one step ahead and on top of your work. If it means studying materials/documentation during out of office hours, doing extra qualifications (which work can pay for sometimes) just do it. You'll be good for it and it puts you in a better position at work too.
Make yourself an asset wherever you go.
9. Just before you round up on your working day, in your notepad write down an agenda for the next working day. This helps the day to run smoothly because you are clear on what needs to be done rather than scrambling your brain for a starting point.
A clear head = a clear mind!
10. Finallyyyyyyy. Do not beat yourself up if you find yourself unable to juggle the work/life balance. Just keep trying until you find what works for you.
I know I said 10 tips but I'll just add this little tip (cheeky me ayy).
Please cherish and value your weekends. You'll be surprised at how quickly it goes.
Rest as often as you can and yes you are allowed to say no to some requests (if it is not necessary or important).
It can be very tempting to want to pile a lot of things into our weekends but if you wear yourself out thin and Monday hits you'll only be worse for wear.
On that note please remember that "Health is Wealth".
Enjoy work and equally enjoy life outside work.
Also please feel free to comment below on what has helped you achieve the work/life balance, someone else could benefit from this.
xoxo
BK
Thanks for the tips. What has helped me is prioritising my activities at work. Eating healthy and doing things outside work. E.g Going to the gym.
ReplyDelete