Work-life balance is the state of achieving the right balance wherein a person prioritises both of their professional and personal life equally. They give importance to personal life as much as they prioritise their professional life.
If you think you are struggling to maintain a work-life balance, you are not alone. Almost everyone struggles to strike a work-life balance at some point in their lives. Even small mistakes can take you off track and have a long effect on your life. So, it is important to choose everyday and analyse what you want in your life. Plan out your years, months, weeks and even days to make the most out of your time and your life.
When you sit down and plan, consciously analyse how you can make a healthy as well as practical balance between your work life and your personal life. You should plan your life in such a way that after fulfilling your duties on the work front, you still have the energy and time to nurture your personal life. There might be some situations when you have to prioritise one over the other, but in those situations, try to focus on what is important at the moment first and then later, prioritise the aspect you ruled out before.
A good work-life balance has numerous positive effects. having a balance in your life can help you achieve your goals efficiently and effectively. Here are some of the positive effects:
- Your life is less stressful
- Lower burnout
- High productivity
- Greater sense of well-being (physically and mentally)
- You are happy
There are many reasons that can keep you off from striking a healthy life balance. The following are some of the most common causes of a bad work-life balance:
- Longer working hours
- Increased responsibilities at work
- Increased responsibilities at home
- Time mis-management
- Not setting your priorities
- Neglecting breaks to rejuvenate
Not being able to strike a work life balance can affect your physical and mental wellbeing. It can lead to several problems that might have a long-lasting effect in life. Some of these might be-
- Fatigue
Fatigue can majorly affect your lifestyle. It can make you lazy, tired most of the time and may left you feel irritated all the time.
- Stressed relationships
Not having a balance can stress out your personal and professional relationships sometimes. When you are not able to strike a balance, you tend to ignore your relationships and end up having serious problems in life.
HOW TO MAINTAIN A BALANCE?
It is most important to strike a balance between your professional and personal life. Make sure that you plan it out so that your routine is practical and you are able to follow it persistently. Here are some things you can follow and these may work out for you.
SELF-AWARENESS
At the end of the day, little choices that we make for ourselves matters. We may think that we can get away with small mistakes, we do sometimes. But sometimes, some decisions in our life makes an impact in our life so deep that it leaves a long-lasting print on our lives. It effects our lifestyle and hence our life in the long run. It is your responsibility to take charge of your own life and be mindful of what you choose for yourself. Make your life worth living and work for a better future. Only hard work can help you reach the heights that you desire to reach.
USE YOUR ASSETS.
Remember that you are the controller of your own life. Your growth, development and betterment should be your top most priority. Take care of yourself and understand that you are worth all the good things in life. Remember that your strengths should be your shield, work on them to make them your assets and work on yourself. See your weaknesses as your strength, do not let anyone affect you and your life. Be the in charge of your life. Don’t attempt to be everything to everyone, choose yourself first. Concentrate on your strengths.
LIST YOUR PRIORITIES.
You should make your own decisions in life. You should prioritise your needs and wants in life. Priories what is important and work hard to achieve what you want. The things that you think are not important at the moment, prioritise them later. Divide your work into different categories. The categories may be
-urgent,
-Important
-critically important
– can be prioritised later
Do what you love, follow your passions and achieve your goals. Prioritise your health and choose for yourself, what requires your actions and concentration most at the moment. Set work and personal boundaries, call out anyone, who oversteps your boundaries.
BALANCE MAY NOT MEAN EVERYTHING BALANCED
It is not necessary to always know what you want out of your life. It is okay to take a break, give yourself the time and space to figure out what you want. Going slow does not mean that you are moving slow than others, it simply means that you are taking your own time and moving at your own speed. Give yourself the liberty to take breaks. Stop judging your own self and believe that you are meant to have a better life. But it is important to make small efforts and move forward in life. Take baby steps and enjoy the journey, make the most out of it. Your actions need not be perfect every time but they should always be realistic and practical. Seek professional help if you think it will help you understand yourself better. Try to understand yourself better.
Take care of your mental and physical wellbeing, take care of yourself. Take up a healthy life style. Workout, practice yoga, run, meditate or do anything that works out for your betterment. Practice and choose your life, analyse your mistakes and work on yourself.
PEAKS AND TROUGHS.
Peaks refers to those times when you are most productive. Whereas troughs refer to those times when you just want to relax, gain back your energy and rest. It is okay to take breaks and rest and rejuvenate.
Decide and analyse when can you be the most productive. Make the most out of that time. Ask yourself, would you prefer to get up early in the morning? Schedule things that require utmost concentration in the mornings. Don’t put off difficult tasks till the end of the day. Ask yourself, would you be more focussed once everyone is asleep, would you be able spare time for yourself better?
Understand your peaks and troughs, understand your actions, your feelings and regulate your emotions. Make the most out of your peaks as well as your troughs.
OPTIMIZE YOUR ENVIRONMENT
Create a work-life balance-friendly environment for yourself. Eliminate all those things that distract you. Assess what is the way that can help you become more efficient and productive, assess and stick to it religiously. Your environment can deeply affect your lifestyle and hence your will to work, your productivity, your behaviour and sometimes your actions. So, it becomes important that you optimize your environment mindfully.
SCHEDULE YOUR TIME
Manage your time. Set equal time for your work and professional life. Prioritise your work but at the same time remember to prioritize your loved ones as well. In the process. Do not forget that you are your first priority. Develop a timetable that works for you. Be realistic. Set your priorities, set your goals and stick to them, work hard towards them. your time is your biggest weapon, use it wisely and make the most out of the time you have.
CONCLUSION
Having a successful career does not always mean that a person has a healthy and pleasant life. Career along with other important aspects of life makes it worth living. It is important that you take proper rest after work, that your mind and body require. That you give yourself the space to understand what your mind and body are actually demanding from you. Listen to your inner voice, be mindful of your needs and wants. Analyse what you want and work hard for it, but do not forget to rest.
Maintaining this balance isn’t difficult if you prioritise yourself. Manage your work and your leisure activities according to your needs and wants. Ask yourself what will help you learn, grow and become a better person. Choose your life and believe in yourself, you will make the most out of it.
YLCC would like to thank Saloni Mann for her valuable inputs in this article.
