Better Balance between Work and Life
Most of us spend anywhere from eight to fifteen hours at work each day. With so much time devoted to business, it is more important than ever to establish a good work-life balance. Creating better balance will pave the way for an improved working environment as well as a greater appreciation of your downtime hours. Here are seven tips you can use:
1. Put some “me” time into your schedule
Spending nearly half of a regular 24-hour day working requires scheduling some serious downtime. Give yourself a much-needed opportunity to let your body recharge. Schedule a family or friend outing every week. Read a book. Take a nap. After a few hours of relaxing, you will be better able to tackle (and handle) work.
2. Only schedule activities that enhance your life
Do you find that you spend hours on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter? Make a plan to limit social media usage to fifteen minutes a day. If you are going on those sites during work hours, try to reduce that time. You might be able to leave work thirty minutes or even an hour earlier. This means that you could gain valuable relaxation time at home.
3. Buy a new pair of sneakers and start running
Sign up for a gym membership at your local gym. Or, if gyms are not your thing, go outside and take a walk or run. Exercising releases stress-relieving endorphins. Reducing stress will better prepare you for your work day, making life more livable.
4. Separate your work from your life
Another key to having a better work-life balance is separating making your life a priority. When you are at work, make a goal to leave at a certain time. Try to use time management techniques to accomplish tasks sooner. You will impress both colleagues and your boss, while creating more time for you and your family and friends.
5. Do not spend weekends doing household chores
Use weekends to have “me” time. While it may seem convenient to save all of your household chores for the weekend, it will result in much less stress if you divide chores up during the workweek. If that is not possible, consider outsourcing your household chores. Sometimes the time saved might be worth the financial cost of hiring some household help.
6. Do not focus on perfectionism
Sometimes in order to have work-life balance, you have to let go of perfectionism. As you get older with the responsibilities that come with a bigger family, or new volunteer or extracurricular activities, perfectionism will (and often should) take a back seat. There’s a trend called “scruffy entertaining,” which is based on the idea that if you have guests to your home, not everything has to be clean, you don’t have to make the most extravagant meal. Your friends come over to see you, not your house.
7. Getting a better work-life balance does not happen overnight
As with most things in life, start small. Begin eating dinner with your family (or roommates) once or twice a week. Then, eat dinner with the people you enjoy three or four times a week. Move in small increments until you reach the desired goal.
Another way to make life easier is to have great employees who make your work life easier. At Vertex Recruiting Solutions Corporation we help bring new hires who can enhance your organization. Vertex recruitment has the best executive recruiters to deliver what your company needs. Call us at Vertex recruitment today to help make life more manageable!