What is Work Life Balance and Understanding its Importance
Work-life balance can mean different things to people. Not only can work-life balance be unique for everyone, but their work environments can be different as well. With the various work environments and schedules today there are many options to choose from. Whether it comes to having a job in office 9 to 5, having a hybrid set-up, or being fully remote with flexible hours, each of these options has its pros and cons. How you choose to balance your life with your job is your responsibility, no matter your work setup. If you struggle with balancing your home life with your work life, or vice versa, keep reading for some tips that will help you get started.
Change Up Your Environment
For hybrid or fully remote employees, working at home can sometimes be a stressful situation. The home environment isn’t always suitable for work. With distractions around the house, it can be hard to focus. Boundaries can be frequently broken when you have kids at home interrupting your work day. On the other side of things, some of us can get too comfortable working from home. If you find yourself working in your pajamas from bed, it might be time to change that habit and get back to picking out a new outfit, getting dressed, and using a separate workspace from where you sleep. Creating the separation between work and home life is so important. Remember, if you do work from home, have your office as removed as possible from all the action in your house. Try setting up your office in a room with a door. Shutting your door can help you detach from outside distractions and from work at the end of the day.
If you find yourself too comfortable, antsy, or unmotivated to work, try switching up your environment. Not only is it nice to get out of the house, but it’s also good to change up your scenery once in a while. You can mix it up by going to a coffee shop or local library to work for a few hours. If you’re states away from your company’s headquarters but want to work in a place with an office-like feel, find an office space you can utilize. Check out our office space memberships to see how you can work from one of our stress-free office setups.
Know When To Take a Break
A lot of people have difficulty recognizing when they need to take a break from work. When this happens, burnout takes over and exhausts you. To avoid burnout, reassure yourself that it’s okay to take a break. Everyone needs a break sometimes. Working so much to where you’re feeling overwhelmed, anxious, or stressed is never good. These emotions can be brought into your home and carried on throughout the day past working hours. If you feel like you need to de-stress and alleviate your anxiety make an appointment with a therapist online. Discuss those different feelings you are experiencing. Try talking about how you can set boundaries in the workplace. For example, stop working when you are supposed to be done. Establish that boundary with your coworkers. Don’t answer that last-minute email that came in at 4:59 P.M. It can wait until the morning. Communicating your boundaries with the people you work with will help your team dynamic by being more productive and effective. It will be easier for your team to understand why you might ask for the workload to be split up so you can meet a deadline. Working as a team to reduce each others’ stress loads and respecting each other’s boundaries is ideal.
Another great way for you to take a break is by using your paid time off. Companies should encourage their employees to use their PTO, so take a break and enjoy life. Whether you head out on a week-long tropical vacation or spend a long weekend relaxing at home, take this opportunity to enjoy yourself. Take a mental health day when you really need a break. It can be in the middle of the week on a Wednesday. No matter when, if you need to just take a day and have no work, take it. Employers would rather you come back to work the next day feeling refreshed, clear-headed and focused. Lastly remember, although it can be tempting, don’t check your email unless you have to when you’re on PTO, there are out-of-office notifications for a reason.
Set Goals
Being goal-oriented is so beneficial and contributes to achieving work-life balance. When it comes to professional goals, be sure to have career development conversations with your boss. Assess your career development goals and see how your performance is affecting your achievement. Be sure to evaluate what you can do to improve. If you have a team to run, set team goals. Try talking with your team about what they would like to accomplish within the quarter or year. Motivate your team to work hard together and be successful. Whether your team wants to reach a certain metric or wants to get to know each other better, these goals are noteworthy.
When it comes to home life, one of the best ways to achieve your goals is by creating to-do lists. Lists allow you to prioritize which tasks are the most important. For example, is making dinner more of a priority than washing the windows? Making dinner should take priority over washing the windows, for certain, the windows can be cleaned after dinner or tomorrow. Implementing goal setting within your entire family will get everyone on the same page. Who knows, this might help get everyone motivated to finish the chores. You might find time to clean up your home office a bit and make it a more functional space for yourself.
Work-life balance is up for interpretation. Whatever it means to you, make sure you are working to achieve it. Try your best to separate work-life problems and home-life struggles. Enjoy these two separate things, separately. Spend quality time with your family after a good work day and head into tomorrow with positive energy and motivation.