7 Tips for Finding Your Work/Life Balance

7 Tips for Finding Your Work/Life Balance

A fulfilling career is something every American strives for throughout their adulthood. However, sometimes this ambition eclipses our personal needs, and we find ourselves being dominated by our work environments. No job should completely outweigh your life outside work, and it is important to keep a balance between the two.

Here are 7 ways to find your Work/Life Balance:

Create Boundaries with your Bosses
Delegate Tasks
Setting Goals
Take Breaks
Find a Hobby
Utilize Time Off
Foster Coworker Relationships

It can be challenging but maintaining a balanced personal and work life is significant to your mental well-being. Let’s break down each step.

Step One: Create Boundaries with your Bosses

This is one of the most important steps to maintaining your professional and personal life. One of the reasons people feel overworked is because they allow their workplace to take advantage of them. Being comfortable telling your bosses “No” can keep you from taking on extra assignments that could potentially make you work longer hours and keep you in the office.

It is important to understand that as an employee, you owe a responsibility to your job only while on the clock. Answering company calls during your time off sends the message that you are less important than your work.

Step Two: Delegate Tasks

Delegating is an extremely valuable, often underused tool. It can help you manage your time in the office more efficiently and keep you from being overwhelmed with work. Here are some important reasons why delegation can help you maintain a better workplace:

Your team will grow closer
- Allowing other people to handle certain responsibilities will let them know you value their work efforts.
Encouraging creativity
- Working as a team allows you to bounce ideas off one another, which improves individual ideas.
You will have more time
- Assigning less important work to other people allows you to have more time to focus on work that matters, which will improve your overall performance as an employee.

Step Three: Setting Goals

If you want to have a productive and fulfilling work life, it is important that you are clear and firm with yourself about what you want to accomplish. One way you can do this is by utilizing “To Do” lists.

Lists are extremely valuable tools that allow you to stay organized. By putting all your tasks in a place you can visualize them, it helps keep you on track for what you want to get done.

Cutting out miscellaneous tasks that have no value is important for a productive workspace. Make sure you are analyzing your lists to make sure they are relevant and will help you stay focused.

Step Four: Take Breaks

Studies show that employees function better when given breaks throughout the workday. American work environments often push employees to put out their best work 24/7. Being constantly pressured to perform at your best can be exhausting.

Breaks allow time for our brains to decompress and have space from projects and assignments. During your lunch break, try to do something relaxing! Read a book or call a friend. Taking yourself out of a working headspace reminds you that you are more than just an employee.

Step Five: Find a Hobby

It is important to utilize your comfort within the workplace but finding meaningful activities outside is just as significant to finding a balance between your professional and personal life.

Engage in activities outside of work that you enjoy and find fulfilling. Doing something you are passionate about is a great way to spend your time on a day off. If you are satisfied with your office life but struggle with filling your days not at work, try these fun activities as a way to relax and unwind:

Hiking
Exploring a new area in your city
Painting
Grabbing drinks with friends
Knitting
Going to the gym

Step Six: Utilize Time Off

One of the most important ways to maintain your work and personal life is by asking for time off. Working for a company that does not give its employees vacation time can lead to you feeling trapped by your job.

Try to go on vacation a few times a year, if you are financially able to. Vacations completely remove you from thinking about work and allow you to take time for yourself and your loved ones. Even short vacations where you stay in your city provide valuable time to decompress and do something for yourself.

Try to plan trips with your family and friends. Having a support system is integral to maintaining your personal life outside work. Vacations are a great time to reconnect with those in your life outside the office.

Step Seven: Foster Coworker Relationships

Even though taking time for yourself is important, if you are too secluded, this may make life at work difficult for you. Coworkers are an integral part to an enjoyable workplace environment.

Understand that your coworkers are human just like you! Just like yourself, they are going through the same struggle of balancing their jobs and personal lives. Get to know your coworkers on more than a superficial level. This creates personal bonds that can extend outside the office into lifelong friendships.

What if I follow these steps and still feel unsatisfied?

Finding a work/life balance that is adequate for you can be a long, tiring process. Accept that there is no ‘standard’ baseline, and it will likely be trial and error until you find what works for you.

If you still struggle to balance your personal life with work after following these tips, it may be time to reevaluate your career. It is important to have a fulfilling and successful job, but not at the total expense of your mental well-being.

If you are feeling completely dominated by your job all the time, you have to ask yourself what you are willing to put up with. Life is about making sacrifices, and there may come a point at which you feel like your career is asking too much.

Sources: Game Learn, Forbes