Turning Work-Life Balance From Myth to Reality

Work-Life Balance is a Myth Right?

With the ever-perplexing complications that go on in our daily life, this balance couldn’t possibly be real. How can you even separate the words “work” and “life” when they are intertwined with each other? You will find that most of the time, work will always interfere with your personal life or vice versa; there will be days when your work consumes more time and you won’t have any time left for your personal or social life.

The problem is that we focus too much or too little on work/personal life and that we end up in a state that feels out of balance. The result is always the same - STRESS, along with its harmful effects.

Should we accept that there is no balance and shift our aim to achieve something entirely different? NO!

Do you know what does exist? Discipline, boundaries, communication, and coming up with your own strategies to make work-life balance work for you.

Why Is Having Balance Important?

We will always have several different priorities competing for our time, energy, and attention, but when you spend too much time worrying about work, you may often ignore the warning signs of burnout, isolation from friends/family, health problems, and depression.

If you are working from home or from an office, there are systems you can implement that will make a significant difference in achieving such balance. Adding this value to your life will lead to

• Higher Engagement Levels

• Improve your mental health

• Less Stress

• Increase Productivity

• Lower risks of workplace burnout

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Achieving the right balance can lead to strong performance at work and help maintain healthy relationships.

#1 BOUNDARIES

• Create a start and end of your day, and stop checking work notifications during non-working hours. I have completely removed my work email notifications from my phone and silenced Slack. This way I am not prone to check them when that bright red notification light pops up.

#2 PRIORITIZE

• The scale between work and personal life duties can and should shift frequently. Last week I talked about organizing your personal “to-do” items, do the same for work. Create a work dump list, weekly, and daily list so that you are able to prioritize the items that actually need to get done.

• Block “solid work hours” into your schedule where you have no meetings and you can get your head down and deep dive into any work projects that need your attention. I recommend 60-90mins in the morning and 60-90mins in the afternoon.

#3 COMMUNICATION

• Learn to say “no” and don’t over-commit.

• Ask for help

• Reschedule appointments/meetings if you are feeling overwhelmed or if it does not fit the priorities of your week.

#4 THE 5min LIST

• I like to set meetings where they either end at 25 or 55mins so that I am never stuck in back-to-back. I drink about a gallon of water a day so I desperately need my bathroom breaks.

• My “5min List” are personal items I can get done within those 5 min breaks.

Example:

I have “laundry” as an item I need to complete that day.

• Loading the washer = 5mins

• Switching the clothes from the washer to dryer = 5mins

• Folding will prob take me longer than 5mins, so I can either break down folding into multiple 5min breaks or leave it till after my work day is over.

This is how I get any personal items done throughout my day and it allows my body some movement and not sit in front of a computer all day. If I am in the office, items on my “5min list” will be things like booking personal appointments, checking in on family members, reading, or even laughing at stupid reels. Anything to allow me a mental break from work.

#5 PTO

• TAKE IT, ENJOY IT and DON'T FEEL GUILTY about it. If your company does not have a quarterly “rest day” create one.

• If you are not completely logged off during your PTO that is not a real PTO. PTOs are made for you to recharge and give your personal life all the love it needs.

"While chasing success, I urge you to stay devoted to a healthy respect for your work-life balance as it becomes a required step in becoming a remarkable elite performer"

-Robin Sharma

Don't wait, set your balance!