How To Find the Balance Between Your Personal and Professional Life

The work-life scale and its importance are seriously underrated! In recent times, it has become increasingly difficult to effectively maintain a healthy work-life balance — managing your personal and professional life can feel like a battlefield if you aren’t prepared for it. Today, work is about long hours and intense pressure to do many things in a short space of time and to deliver quickly.

Working Harder Doesn’t Equal Achieving More

It is a common misconception that the longer and the harder you work, you will achieve more. This requires you to take a step back and question how you define achievement. Success needs to be more than getting your work done. If you are cooped up in the office to finish a project and your family is losing out on spending time with you, then you certainly not achieving success. Think about it: success is about scoring in every area of your life — not high on one hand and zero on the other. Be more productive with the hours that you schedule for work. Once you have the mindset that you need to achieve ABC in XYZ timeframe, you will be surprised at how much better you will perform.

Don’t Overachieve

Overachieving will not make you a happier person. If you consistently overachieve, your employer will think that you are able to handle that specific workload because you’ve been cranking out twice as much work as you were allocated or perhaps you finished in half the time. Don’t aim for the sky because the fall from the top doesn’t have a pretty landing. If you were given two weeks to finish a project, use that time to do it. Don’t spend time after hours completing that project in 5 days, thinking you are a step ahead of everyone. The reality is that you will get a pat on the back and another project in your lap. Completion time is there for a reason, and you need to remember that you don’t live to work – you work to live!

Take Your Time Off

Every company has a set number of rest days that their employees are entitled to. So many employees do not make use of these days, and they do expire, or sometimes, they are sold to the company if the company allows such a practice. The bottom line is that the days are there for a reason. You are human, and humans need rest, relaxation, and rejuvenation. Think of your days off as recovery time and use them well. This means no thinking about or doing work on these days. Taking time off is an investment in yourself and you will perform better if you do this. Think of how equipment is serviced in a factory, and think of your rest period as a ‘service’ for your mind and body. You will return to the office refreshed, motivated, and energized — and your quality of work is likely to improve! Don’t think of telling them all at once at the end of the year either – spread your rejuvenation days across the work year and enjoy the benefits!

Prioritize

This is such a simple tip that it is often overlooked and underused. The benefit of prioritizing your day is this – once you have a clear idea of exactly what has to be completed on that very day, you will feel more able to achieve those things. Additionally, you will find that they somehow take a shorter time to complete. Ticking off an item from your list is surprisingly satisfying, and you will find that you have more job satisfaction. Where your time needs to be focused will be clear as daylight. Don’t over-schedule your tasks for the day, and allocate time to complete the smaller tasks towards the end of the day. You will find that suddenly it seems like your day has so much more time to complete all that you have to do!

Start valuing your work-life balance today and begin making the necessary changes in order to start seeing success in all areas of your life. Don’t rate your success on your work performance alone because your life is so much more than just your job. Your job is there because we all need an income to live the life we want to lead – don’t let it consume you!