In some cases, keeping your professional or academic career and your private life in perfect balance can become a real challenge. A lot of adults probably have to admit that work or school has an impact on their relationships, their family, and vice versa. Finding work-life balance can help you become more productive and avoid running out of energy. To be successful in this balancing act requires careful planning and preparation, but you can do it too.
Steps
Method 1 of 5: Manage Your Time
Step 1. Try to separate work and play
In the age of online learning and working from home, it's easy to spend time at home and take care of everything. Attending school or working remotely can add even more flexibility to your home life. However, the downside is that work or school can intrude on home and family activities. It's not easy to say no to work when it's always close at hand. Furthermore, without a clear separation between home and office, it is not easy to switch from professional to private life. To counter this, you need an area specifically dedicated to work.
- If you work from home or take an online course, you may find it helpful to go to a library, café, or remote student and worker center. At the end of your job, you can physically leave that environment and facilitate the transition to private life.
- If you have to work from home, do what you can to dedicate an area to work. You can use a room for office use, or simply a specific point, such as the kitchen table. Don't worry if you work from other locations from time to time as well.
- If you work in a traditional office, make sure you find a relaxing way to transition from professional to private life when you finish your work day. For example, you can spend the time it takes to get home listening to music or an audiobook, stop by the gym for a quick workout, or call a friend to chat.
Step 2. Set your priorities
To stay balanced on the fine line between professional and private life, you need to understand what your priorities are. This way, in difficult or emergency situations, you will have no doubts about what is most important to you.
- Make a list of the most important aspects of your life. Of course, you can include things like family, romantic relationships, work, and spirituality. You can also include volunteering, physical activity, maintaining a social circle, and other passions.
- Reread the list and sort the items by importance, starting with the most essential. This ranking is the representation of your priorities. Thanks to it, you can be sure that you are committed to meeting these priorities in your daily and weekly schedules.
Step 3. Create a schedule and stick to it
If your week ends in a flash and you can't remember what activities you did over the days, it can be helpful to take notes on everything you do for seven days. At the end of the week, you will have a clearer idea of how to organize various school / professional commitments and personal activities in your schedule.
- It can be especially helpful to develop a weekly schedule that includes all the activities you do regularly, such as work, classes, church going, and social activities as well as occasional events. At that point, every night before bedtime, you can make a to-do list for the next day, based on your priorities.
- For the daily schedule, prioritize the three most important activities you need to complete (besides work or school). It can be business commitments, like working on a presentation, or personal, like going to the dentist or your daughter's play.
- You could even create two separate lists if one fits you tight; one with three important work / school activities and one with three home life commitments. You will be able to consider productive every day in which you have completed these 3 or 6 activities.
Step 4. Stop putting off commitments
This bad habit is a big obstacle that can keep you from finding the right balance. You may notice that you start to confuse professional and private life because you always find yourself forced to do things at the last minute. This leads to you finishing work late or being distracted by your personal schedule at work.
- One way to avoid procrastination is to write down your reasons for joining a certain school or for choosing a certain career, and so on. For example, if you want to help people, you can complete your duties with the intrinsic motivation to achieve your goal. Keep the list handy in your office and read it when you feel unmotivated.
- Another way to avoid procrastination is to break up big projects into smaller tasks. So the more difficult tasks will seem less scary and you will find more and more motivation as you complete the smaller parts.
Step 5. Eliminate distractions
You'd be surprised how much time and productivity distractions make you waste. Research estimates that people spend about 20 minutes every hour dealing with unplanned distractions. As a result, we waste about two hours every day trying to regain focus after getting distracted. If you can minimize distractions in your professional life, you can prevent it from constantly interfering with your private life. Try the following tips to eliminate distractions:
- Focus on important tasks instead of urgent ones; no longer take a reactive approach, but a proactive one.
- Turn off mobile and computer notifications.
- Create a clean and tidy workplace.
- Put the phone away.
- Close any programs you are not actively using.
- Get some water, something to eat, or go to the bathroom during scheduled stops to minimize physiological breaks.
Step 6. Use inventiveness
Regardless of your commitment, there will be some situations where one part of your life will require more attention. Learn to be creative and find ways to address the most pressing priority without neglecting the others.
- For example, maybe it's a time when you are always forced to work overtime and never go out with your partner. One night you can commit to lighting candles over dinner or choosing a movie to watch on the sofa. This attention doesn't take too much time and can help your partner not feel neglected.
- You may have the option of giving up on larger projects or splitting time with a co-worker to lighten your workload and find more time for your romantic relationship and family. If you can't afford to work less, plan to spend your lunch break at the park with your family or take them to company lunches.
Method 2 of 5: Set Limits
Step 1. Assess your situation
As much as you may try to find a balance, in some situations the mixture of private and professional life is necessary, especially if you have children. Consider the two parts of your life to identify situations in which they will cross. Think about your family and your personal responsibilities. How often do those people and responsibilities require your attention while you are working?
- For example, if you have young children, it often becomes necessary to take their needs into account when planning your work schedule. Likewise, if you take care of the children yourself and work from home, there will be occasions when you will be forced to take a break because one of the children needs something.
- In some cases, it may happen that work takes precedence over your private life. For example, if you work as a doctor and are on call, you may have to cancel personal commitments due to professional emergencies.
Step 2. Protect your health
The needs of other people at work, school, or home can quickly stifle your physical needs. Unfortunately, neglecting your health can have serious consequences, such as missing days of work or classes, or not being able to attend family and social events. Having the anxiety of having to get it all done creates stress, which if not managed well can have debilitating effects on your mental and physical health.
- To counteract stress and give your body well-being, exercise a few times a week. You can join the company soccer team, run to the park with your partner or join a gym.
- In addition to exercise, you can combat stress by eating several balanced meals every day, getting enough sleep, and pursuing personal interests.
Step 3. Defend your passions
When work, school or personal relationships become too cumbersome, it can happen that we abandon hobbies and interests to accommodate them. The problem is that giving up those activities denies us the possibility of releasing the stress of professional and private life. Make a commitment to protect your leisure time and continue to make room for social activities and pastimes you enjoy.
- Try to reward yourself with a short break to pursue a hobby after completing an important work goal.
- Another way to defend your passions is to identify moments dedicated to them in your program. Write the guitar lesson or book club meeting on your diary as you would for professional and family commitments.
Step 4. Learn to say "no"
At first this may seem rude or selfish, but with practice, you will find that selectively giving up on various projects and opportunities is truly liberating. Accept only requests that meet your priorities and don't limit your already busy life. Here's how to say "no":
- Show that you understand the importance of the request by saying "It looks like a great opportunity, but …".
- Explain briefly, for example "In all honesty, this is beyond my remit" or "I have too many deadlines."
- Recommend an alternative. For example, you can say "I can't, but I know a perfect person for this job."
Step 5. Give up something
If work and household chores are constantly stealing each other's time, you need to make the decision to leave less room for one area or the other. If you don't, you will continue to feel stressed and unhappy. Carefully consider your life to understand which side needs the sharpest boundaries.
- Do you regularly receive calls that force you to return to work when you are at home? Does your boss always surprise you with last-minute activities? Can you afford to work less economically? If the answer to most of these questions is "Yes," work is invading your private life, but you may be able to speak to your boss to reduce your hours or workload.
- If you are a career mom, limiting working hours can be the key to feeling happier. Studies have shown that on average women are happier when they restrict work to meet the needs of their family.
- Does your partner or wife often interrupt your work day due to minor domestic or family problems? Does your professional performance suffer from the fact that you stay up late to have fun with friends and your partner? Do you have to quit your job to take care of errands or housework? If the answer to any of these questions is "Yes", your private life is likely negatively affecting your skills at work. You need to decide if you need to set limits on people who too often interfere with your career.
Method 3 of 5: Manage Social Networks
Step 1. Create separate professional and private profiles
Social media has become an integral part of many people's home and work life and this makes it even more difficult to separate the two spheres. If you are active on the internet in both areas of your life, it is important to distinguish between the two, so that you better control what you share with the world on either side.
Many people use LinkedIn for business or academic relationships and Facebook or Instagram to keep in touch with friends and family
Step 2. Make a clear decision on how to handle professional and personal information
If you work from home, you need to know the company policies on the separation of personal and work data. Some companies offer their employees completely separate devices (such as phones or computers) to use for work. Others allow the use of personal devices.
Find out what your company's guidelines are in this regard. Also, make sure you have backup copies of all personal data, such as contacts, photos and music
Step 3. Set specific times to be active on the internet
If social media is part of your professional life, you may find yourself spending more time online than is necessary for your job. Logging in many times a day or every time you see a notification is a habit that negatively interferes with both your professional and private life.
Make the decision to isolate yourself for a couple of hours every day. Alternatively, dedicate a short time to contacts with friends and those who follow you on the internet, then stop logging in all day
Method 4 of 5: Working from Home
Step 1. Try to stick to a fixed schedule
It's not easy to keep the same working hours every day when you work from home, but following a regular schedule can help you keep your professional and private life separate. Choose a realistic time and stick to it. For example, you might decide to work 8:00 am to 4:30 pm Monday through Friday.
- Don't let working hours encroach on your personal time. When it's time to quit, turn off your computer and get up from your "office" chair.
- Choose a program that suits your private life well. For example, avoid working on weekends if there are other activities you want to do.
Step 2. Get dressed to go to work even when you are at home
Change into professional clothes during the day and casual in the evening. If you get out of bed and sit in front of the computer in your pajamas, it becomes more difficult to start your work day. The same can be said of those who continue to be dressed in a suit and tie in the evening.
- Aim to get up about 30-60 minutes before starting work so that you have time to prepare.
- Make sure you take off your work clothes when it's time to relax. For example, you can put on pajamas or jeans and your favorite shirt.
Step 3. Take your lunch break
When you work in the office, a lunch break is necessary and there may even be someone to remind you when to take it. Conversely, if you work from home, it can be difficult to remember to stop and eat, and you may be tempted not to interrupt work or eat at your desk. Avoid getting into this bad habit and set mandatory lunch breaks in your days.
- Set the start and end of your lunch break for every day. For example, you might decide to stop every day from 1pm to 1:30 pm.
- Ask a relative or partner to remind you when to stop for lunch. If you are afraid of forgetting to eat, get help from someone to pick you up during breaks.
Step 4. Make it a point not to do housework
You may be tempted to fix something around the house during breaks or business phone calls, but this can blur the separation between professional and private life.
- Try to avoid doing housework or anything else not related to your professional life until the work day is over. If you notice that there is something to do around the house, write it down on a notepad and think about it when you're done working.
- Remember that we are all different. For example, if folding laundry is a relaxing activity for you, do it during breaks!
Step 5. Reward yourself at the end of the day
It's important to find simple ways to reward yourself for a hard day's work. You can take a walk outside, have a cup of tea, talk to a friend, or do any other pleasant activity that marks the end of work.
Consider engaging in social activities at the end of the day. Working from home can be alienating, so it's important to find ways to interact with other people. You can do this by talking to your partner, meeting friends for coffee, or taking an evening aerobics class
Method 5 of 5: Finding the Balance Between Childcare and Work
Step 1. Consider following a more flexible schedule
Not everyone can afford to have fixed hours, especially those with small children. In some cases, you will need to get used to doing your work 5-10 minutes at a time so that you can meet the needs of your children or work in the evening to complete what you have not been able to do during the day.
- You may also be forced into unusual hours to find work-life balance even if you work from home. For example, if you have to take care of small children while you work, you may need to carry on an hour or two after they have gone to bed or after your partner has returned home in the evening.
- Be sure to ask your employer or client if you are allowed to have more flexible hours to manage your children's needs. You may not have the luxury of flexibility if your employer expects you to always be available at certain times of the day. If you are a freelancer, however, you may be able to work when you can, day or night.
Step 2. Take advantage of childcare possibilities
Asking someone to watch your kids for a couple of hours every day can be a great way to get your chores done. If you have available grandparents or other relatives who are able to take care of your children for some time every day, take advantage of this advantage.
- Consider the best solution for you and the child caregiver. For example, your parents might come to your house, or you could leave your kids to play with their grandmother for a couple of days a week.
- A reliable babysitter is also a great choice if you can afford to pay someone to take care of your children. If you don't know a babysitter you trust, ask friends and family for a recommendation.
Step 3. Use boxes full of toys to keep your kids entertained while you work
If there is no one who can look after your children while you work during the day, you will often have to find other ways to keep them busy. One way to do this is to fill a box with fun items so they never get bored even if you can't give them attention.
- Fill a box with toys and tools to keep your child entertained while you work. For example, you can include crayons, clay, a coloring book, stickers, puzzles, and other games.
- Prepare the box the night before and keep it close to your work area. You can use an old shoe box or other similarly sized container and fill it with the baby's toys. Also add some surprises from time to time, like a new coloring book or a new sticker pack.
- You can even make themed boxes. For example, if you want to teach your child about colors, you can make boxes with only red, blue, etc. objects. Alternatively, you can choose your child's favorite movie, book, TV show or character as the theme.
Step 4. Work in the same room with your children
This is a good idea, because it allows you to keep them under control and keep them entertained when needed. For example, if you work from home, you can create a dedicated area for your children by placing a special mat on the floor along with some of their toys.
- You may also learn to talk and play with your children while you work. It is not easy to be able to focus on your duties and consider your children at the same time, but with practice you can develop this ability.
- If you have a garden with an area where children can play or if there is a playground near your home, you can even consider working outside for an afternoon.
